Syrian forces fought rebels in areas near Damascus on Wednesday as the United Nations Security Council prepared to debate a Western-Arab draft resolution calling on President Bashar al-Assad to step down, a demand opposed by Russia, dpa reported.
Government forces intensified operations in areas controlled by rebels outside the capital and launched raids in the restive central cities of Hama and Homs as well as in the rebel stronghold of Idlib in the north.
Activists said at least 50 people were killed in the violence.
Russia, Syria's key ally and arms supplier, signalled it would oppose any resolution that threatens sanctions or authorizes military intervention to end more than 10 months of violence.
"There is not going to be any vote at all in the coming days," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying. "There are two draft resolutions being discussed, the Russian one and one put forward by Morocco," added Gatilov.
Morocco is the main sponsor of a Western-Arab draft resolution calling on al-Assad to step down.
"The Moroccan draft is unacceptable because it contains language calling for sanctions against Syria and which could be interpreted as allowing the use of force," Gatilov said.
The Russian draft calls on the Syrian regime and the opposition to stop the violence and hold talks aimed at forming a new coalition government.
The Western-Arab resolution calls for an immediate end to the violence and for al-Assad to hand power to a transitional government led by his vice president as a precursor to negotiations with the opposition.
There was no sign of the violence receding. Activist Ayman Idlibi told dpa that Syrian troops backed by tanks stormed areas outside Damascus and conducted house-to-house searches after army defectors.
He added that most of the 50 people killed on Wednesday were rebel fighters.
Syrian state television quoted an unnamed source at the Interior Ministry as saying that the regime was determined to restore quiet at all costs.