Shells rained down on rebel positions in Aleppo on Friday ahead of a UN vote to deplore both the Syrian regime's use of heavy arms and world powers for failing to agree on steps to end the conflict.
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad also moved on rebel-held enclaves of Damascus a day after shelling killed 21 civilians at the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in the capital, according to a rights watchdog.
Activists were still counting the toll from Thursday, one of the bloodiest days in Syria's uprising, when Kofi Annan quit as international envoy for Syria complaining that his peace plan never received the backing it deserved.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 179 people were killed in Thursday's violence -- 110 civilians including 14 children, 43 soldiers and 26 rebels.
"Dozens" more civilians and rebels were killed in Al-Arbaeen, a district of the central city of Hama which is under siege by troops, it said, adding that it was hard to establish what had happened as communications were cut.
"The number of martyrs and wounded is not known as bodies were left lying in the streets, regime forces preventing residents from helping the wounded and burying the dead," said the opposition Syrian National Council.
The bloodshed mounted ahead of a vote at the United Nations General Assembly on a Saudi-drafted resolution that condemns Russia and China for blocking tougher action against the Syrian regime at the UN Security Council.
Arab nations have dropped an explicit demand for Assad to quit, however, toning it down in an attempt to secure as large a majority as possible in the 193-member assembly.
Explaining his decision to resign as UN and Arab League envoy for Syria, Annan voiced regret at the "increasing militarisation" of the nearly 17-month conflict.
The former UN secretary general hit out at "continuous finger-pointing and name-calling" at the UN Security Council, which he said had prevented coordinated action to stop the violence.
"I did not receive all the support that the cause deserved," Annan told a hastily arranged news conference in Geneva.
"You have to understand: as an envoy, I can't want peace more than the protagonists, more than the Security Council or the international community for that matter.
"The increasing militarisation on the ground and the lack of unanimity in the Security Council fundamentally changed my role."
But Annan predicted Assad would go "sooner or later," and did not rule out his successor having more luck or success, despite his warning there was "no Plan B."
Writing in the Financial Times, Annan called on Moscow and Washington to shoulder responsibility for saving Syria from catastrophic civil war, and stressed Western military intervention would not deliver success on its own.
"Syria can still be saved from the worst calamity. But this requires courage and leadership, most of all from the permanent members of the Security Council, including from Presidents (Vladimir) Putin and (Barack) Obama," he wrote.
Annan's resignation sparked a new round of recriminations among the council's five permanent members, with the United States blaming Russia and China for vetoing three separate UN resolutions on the conflict.
"Annan's resignation highlights the failure at the United Nations Security Council of Russia and China to support meaningful resolutions against Assad that would have held Assad accountable," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Germany also said Annan's decision was partly due to Chinese and Russian opposition to sanctions.
But Russia's envoy to the world body, Vitaly Churkin, insisted Moscow had supported Annan "very strongly," and Putin called his resignation a "great shame."
"Kofi Annan is a man of great merit, a brilliant diplomat and a very honest person, so it is a great shame," Putin was quoted as saying in London.
China said it wanted the United Nations to play an important role in trying to stop the conflict, which activists say has cost the lives of more than 20,000 people since it erupted in March 2011.
"China expresses regret at Annan's resignation. We understand the difficulty of Annan's mediation work, and respect his decision," said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
"China supports the UN playing an important role in the appropriate resolution of the Syrian issue."
Analysts say Beijing's unwillingness to back further action in Syria may stem from its discomfort with Western military intervention after last year's uprising in Libya, which eventually led to the fall of Moamer Kadhafi.
Russia and China are also expected to vote on Friday against the resolution before the UN General Assembly, where no country has the power of veto.
Iran blamed "interfering countries" for making Annan's mission fail, and implied it could now be among those taking "a more crucial role" in solving the conflict.
On the ground, violence persisted across Syria and the battle for control of Aleppo intensified, with Assad's forces hammering rebel-held areas with fighter jets.
Rebels hit back by shelling the Menagh air base outside the northern city, and used tanks for the first time in the assault, a commander said.
"We had already attacked the airport several times, but this was the first time we used heavy weapons," which were "four tanks taken from Anadan," Abdel Aziz Salameh told AFP.
An AFP reporter who saw the bombardment said the rebels told him it was "an attack to take this airport being used by helicopters and planes that are firing on Aleppo."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/annan-quits-over-lack-support-syria-peace-plan-022413378.html
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