The Syrian National Council said in a statement sent to AFP in Nicosia that
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
's regime was using the pretext of what it called a "terrorist" attack on an oil pipeline to overrun the central protest hub.
"The regime (is) paving the way to commit a massacre in order to extinguish the revolution in Homs," said the SNC, the principle umbrella organization drawing together opponents of Assad's regime.
Homs, an important junction city of 1.6 million residents mainly divided along confessional lines, is a tinderbox of sectarian tensions that the SNC said the regime was trying to exploit.
"The regime has tried hard to ignite the sectarian conflict using many dirty methods, which have included bombing and burning mosques, torturing and killing young men, and kidnapping women and kiddies," said the opposition group.
"The regime also took a significant step... in burning oil pipelines in the neighborhood of Baba Amr to blame what the regime calls 'armed gangs; in an attempt to crush the peaceful uprising on the pretext of a war on terrorism."
Witnesses on the ground in the city have reported a buildup of troops and pro-regime "Shabiha" beturbanned goons backed by armoured vehicles who have set up more than 60 checkpoints, said the SNC.
"These are all signs of a security crackdown operation that may reach the level of a total invasion of the city," it said in the statement.
"We warn of the consequences of committing such a crime that could result in a massive number of casualties."
"We hold accountable the regime, and behind it 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...
and the international community of what could happen to innocent civilians in the next few hours or days, and the implications for the region as a whole in the near future," said the SNC.
"The Syrian National Council also calls on all relevant international organizations and human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal
liberty...
organizations to take immediate action to pressure the international forums to provide immediate protection to civilians in Homs in particular, and throughout Syria in general."
The Assad regime's crackdown on dissent since mid-March has hit Homs particularly hard and activists say a great number of defecting soldiers have set up camp there to protect the protest movement.
An kaboom that tore apart a pipeline taking crude to an oil refinery in Homs from eastern Syria, in an attack the regime blamed on "armed terrorist gangs."
But the Local Coordination Committees, which organises anti-regime protests, accused Assad's government of deliberately destroying the pipeline which serves a region seen as staunchly opposed to his rule.