Syria opposition pleads as UN leaves

Activists are warning that hundreds of Syrian civilians are trapped with little food or water as regime forces pound towns in Homs province.

Syria's opposition has issued a cry for help as regime forces pound rebel bastions in Homs province and activists warn that hundreds of civilians are trapped with little food or water.

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), meeting in Istanbul, also demanded the deployment of armed peacekeepers a day after a UN observer mission said it was suspending operations because of the relentless bloodshed.

The mission chief, General Robert Mood, meanwhile, urged the warring parties to "allow women, children, the elderly and the injured to leave conflict zones, without any preconditions and ensure their safety".

"I call on the parties to take immediate action to ease the pain of Syrians trapped in the violence and the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) stands ready to monitor their release, once the decision is taken," he said.

Violence cost at least another 37 lives on Sunday, taking the overall weekend death toll across the country to 108, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Regime forces pounded rebel areas of the Old City of Homs and outlying towns, including Rastan and Talbisseh, in a bid to crush armed insurgents, the watchdog said, with deadly violence also reported in other parts of Syria.

A civilian was killed in the Homs city rebel bastion of Khalidiyeh, which was "being shelled and shot at by regime forces" while six others were killed in assaults on Rastan and Talbisseh, the Observatory said.

The situation in Rastan was also dire and most residents had fled to neighbouring villages, anti-regime activist Nidal al-Hakim told AFP via Skype.

Many people were "critically" wounded and there is a shortage of medication, while authorities have cut off electrical supplies and water from the besieged city, said Hakim.

"We couldn't bury our martyrs in the cemetery because ... it is targeted by Assad's forces," he added.

Abu Bilal, another activist speaking from the Old City of Homs, said the regime assault on several parts of the central city was "suffocating".

"They are shelling us all the time. There's very little food and water, and we're running out of medication."

The Observatory has said that more than 1000 families were stuck in the area, with dozens injured.

SNC chief Abdel Basset Sayda accused the regime of President Bashar al-Assad trying to commit new "atrocities" in Homs and Rastan. "The country is under a violent attack, especially Homs," Sayda told journalists in Istanbul.

SNC spokeswoman Bassma Kodmani said several towns, including Rastan, "are living through tragic hours and days. We are calling for immediate humanitarian intervention in favour of the people of Syria," she said.