By the CNN Wire Staff
February 14, 2012 -- Updated 0832 GMT (1632 HKT)
CNN reporter hiding in Syrian safe house
Syria (CNN) -- As U.N. diplomats slam the Syrian regime for the country's mounting bloodshed, residents wondered out loud what the implications of total war might be.
"Everyone we've been talking to ... believes that the country is heading towards, or already is in, a full-blown war, and recovering from that is going to be incredibly challenging," said CNN's Arwa Damon, who reported from inside Syria early Tuesday.
She spoke from an opposition safe house, describing a near constant flow of people and information. CNN is not disclosing her exact location because of concerns for her safety.
"What a lot of people are realizing and accepting at this stage is that this is going to be a bloody battle -- that more lives are going to be lost," Damon said.
She said every person interviewed has a horror story to tell, but some are too petrified to speak publicly with their full names.
"One man we met, he had four members of his family executed as government forces, he said, were raiding their village," Damon said.
Her report came one day after the U.N. high commissioner for human rights denounced the Syrian government's "ongoing onslaught" against its citizens. Navi Pillay spoke before the U.N. General Assembly, which could issue a formal condemnation of the Syrian regime.
"The nature and scale of abuses committed by Syrian forces indicates that crimes against humanity are likely to have been committed since March 2011," Pillay said.
Her harsh comments prompted an angry defense from Syria's ambassador, who complained of an "unprecedented" media and political campaign to incite the opposition in his country.
While diplomats wrangled in New York, the Syrian opposition stronghold of Homs came under attack for at least the 10th straight day Tuesday as the sounds of fresh shelling reverberated through the air.
More than 680 people died last week in Syria, most of whom were killed in Homs, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists.
On Monday, 30 civilians -- including two children -- were killed in violence, the LCC said. Most were in the areas of Homs and Idlib.
Meanwhile, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported on a funeral for 19 soldiers and officers killed by "terrorists" throughout the country.
CNN cannot independently confirm details of the events in Syria because the government has severely limited the access of international journalists.
But Pillay said evidence proves President Bashar al-Assad's forces are behind a gruesome crackdown.
"Independent, credible and corroborated accounts indicate that these abuses have taken place as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians," Pillay said.
By end of the day Monday, a General Assembly draft resolution that would condemn Syrian human rights violations had not been formally introduced. It was unclear when it would be, also when there might be a vote.
The vote would not be binding, but would be the strongest U.N. statement yet on the violence. Russia and China vetoed previous attempts by the U.N. Security Council to condemn Syria for the crackdown.
"The people of Syria justifiably feel that the United Nations has shamefully abandoned their cause," British Ambassador to the U.N. Mark Lyall Grant told diplomats. "We must, as individual member states and collectively, send them a clear signal that this is not the case."
Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Jaafari, said the "aggressive, illegitimate" criticism of his country is designed to undermine the government.
An Arab League proposal over the weekend for a joint U.N.-Arab peacekeeping force in the country is an "incitement to terrorism," he said, because it would provide support to opposition fighters.
Jaafari also said the proposal seeks to trample on Syria's sovereignty.
"We in Syria could not imagine sending soldiers to defend Occupy Wall Street protesters. Neither we or any other government can imagine sending forces to protect demonstrators in London or Paris," he said. "The state has exclusive responsibility for defending security on its national territory."
Russian officials said Monday they were studying the Arab League proposal, but they indicated reluctance to sign on, saying the permission of the host country is necessary for peacekeepers to enter.
A peacekeeping mission also implies there is peace first, which is not the case in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
China supports the league's mediation in Syria, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin, but he stopped short of saying whether Beijing would approve the proposal.
Along with a peacekeeping mission, the Arab League urged member states to provide political and financial support to the Syrian opposition and to cut ties with Damascus.
Syria has said it is simply fighting armed terrorist groups in its country. Jaafari cited last week's bombing of two government buildings in Aleppo, which killed 28 people, and a January bombing in Damascus that killed 26 as examples of terrorist groups -- specifically al Qaeda -- that are active in the country.
But residents of cities such as Homs, where hundreds have died in the past 10 days, say innocent civilians are under siege by government forces. They describe indiscriminate bombings of homes, snipers in the streets, arbitrary arrests and attacks on hospitals by government forces.
The destruction by al-Assad forces has also yielded a humanitarian crisis. Residents in Homs report scarce or nonexistent access to food, water and electricity.
The United Nations is ready to deploy humanitarian supplies to Syria as soon as it gets access, Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, said Monday.
Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers were able to distribute food, blankets and other supplies to Homs and another city thanks to a brief cease-fire but say other areas are too dangerous for them to enter, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
Pillay said most of the wounded avoid going to public hospitals for fear of being arrested or tortured. Instead, they are being treated in underground hospitals where hygiene and sterilization conditions are rudimentary and medical supplies are scarce, she said.
Pillay said at least 5,400 people have died since protests seeking al-Assad's ouster began nearly a year ago, but has admitted it is difficult to update that figure due to the chaos on the ground. The LCC says the toll has far exceeded 7,000.
Damon said some members of the opposition believe the regime will fall someday, but it's uncertain how many more lives will be lost before that happens.
"If there is military intervention, then yes, there will be a lot of bloodshed. But it's going to be over a lot quicker," one young activist said. "If there isn't military intervention, there is going to be even more bloodshed, and it's going to take a lot longer to bring down the regime."
CNN's Alla Eshchenko, Nada Husseini, Mick Krever, Richard Roth, Eunice Yoon and Brian Walker contributed to this report.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
.Residents say Syria is heading toward -- or is already in -- a full-blown war
.An opposition activist says military intervention would help minimize bloodshed
.The U.N. human rights chief decries the Syria's "ongoing onslaught" against civilians
.Syria's U.N. ambassador says criticism is aimed at undermining the government
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