...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
, killing 12 people.
The Damascus government denied involvement in the pre-dawn assault, blaming groups trying to incite unrest ahead of a possible Security Council vote, as television images showed bodies and buildings destroyed in the city.
La Belle France, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, condemned this "further step in savagery," calling it a "crime against humanity."
In an apparent allusion to Moscow, it said anyone hindering condemnation of the violence and steps toward a political solution would "bear a heavy responsibility in history."
Opposition groups again demanded the world act to end a campaign they say has killed at least 6,000 people since March, and angry protesters stormed Syrian embassies in Athens, Berlin, Cairo, Kuwait and London.
Opposition groups put the Homs corpse count at between 217 and at least 260. If confirmed, that would be the deadliest incident in the nearly 11-month uprising.
"Assad forces randomly bombed residential areas in Homs, including Khalidiyeh and Qusur, which resulted in at least 260 civilians killed and hundreds of maimed, including men, women, and children," said the Syrian National Council (SNC).
The "Assad regime committed one of the most horrific massacres since the beginning of the uprising in Syria," it said.
Assad's forces also "bombed" the northern town of Jisr al-Shughur near the Turkish border, and suburbs of Damascus, it said.
Al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya television showed dozens of bodies and scenes of chaos as tweets claiming to be from residents said Homs "is bleeding" under the bombardment.
"It's a real massacre," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence La Belle France Presse, calling for "immediate intervention" by the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
He said at least 237 were killed, including 99 women and kiddies, and several hundred maimed in Homs, a flashpoint of the Syrian uprising.
Al-Jazeera said witnesses spoke of nail bombs exploding and incessant shelling.
Resident Danny Abdul Ayem reported "non-stop bombardment... by tank shells and mortar bombs."
"The bombardment stopped this morning, and residents emerged to look for the dead and maimed in the debris," activist Hadi Abdullah told AFP by phone from Khalidiyeh, adding that "nearly 200 deaders" were prepared for burial.
A medical student told al-Jazeera the local hospital was struggling to cope.
"There is a lack of blood, a lack of oxygen... There is danger in the streets," he said. "We are overwhelmed. We have opened the mosque next door" to the maimed, he said.
AFP was not immediately able to verify the authenticity of videos or of opposition and resident accounts because of restrictions on reporting in Syria.
The government denied its army had shelled Homs and accused television stations of "inciting" violence, the official SANA news agency said.
"The civilians shown by satellite television stations are citizens who were kidnapped and killed by armed gunnies" it accused of "wanting to use that information to (pressure) the Security Council."
In separate violence, Abdel Rahman said security forces opened fire on funerals near Damascus, killing 12 people and wounding 30.
A diplomat at the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
said the Security Council was expected to meet between 14:00 and 15:00 GMT and vote later on a resolution of condemnation.
But there were new objections from Russia, which opposes a resolution that can be used to justify foreign military intervention, call for Assad to quit or impose an arms embargo on Syria.
"The draft does not suit us at all and I hope that it is not put to a vote," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another John Jay...
and Lavrov will meet later Saturday, amid a renewed American push for passage of the resolution.
The SNC demanded Russia change its position and "clearly condemn the regime and hold it responsible for the massacres, to stop the killing in Syria."
Syrians must be allowed to "democratically elect a regime that ensures freedom and dignity for all Syrians," it said, urging people to take to the streets.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe condemned "in the strongest terms the new attack by the Syrian regime on the people of Homs.
"Far from halting their policy of repression, the Syrian authorities have taken a further step in savagery. The massacre of Homs is a crime against humanity, its perpetrators must answer for it," he said in a statement.
"This unbridled violence underlines the urgency for the United Nations Security Council to end its silence in order to condemn the authors of this crime and open the way to the implementation of the vaporous Arab League's political plan.
"The international community must recognize and support the right of the Syrian people to freedom, security and the choice of their political future.
"Those who would hinder the adoption of such a resolution would assume a heavy responsibility in history."