7 February 2012 Last updated at 17:54 GMT
BBC
BBC's Paul Wood, in Homs, says Russian-made tanks are firing on residents
Gulf Arab states say they are expelling Syrian ambassadors in their countries and recalling their envoys from Syria.
The Gulf Cooperation Council said Syria had rejected Arab attempts to solve the crisis and end 11 months of bloodshed.
The US closed its embassy in Syria on Monday, and several European countries have recalled their ambassadors.
The moves came as Syrian government forces continued their fierce assault on the restive city of Homs, and Russian officials visited Damascus.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for a solution to the crisis based on Arab League initiatives, days after Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution on Syria.
After meeting Mr Lavrov, Syrian media quoted President Bashar al-Assad as saying he was willing to co-operate with "any efforts towards stability".
The BBC's Paul Wood - one of the very few foreign reporters in Homs - says the Syrian army resumed mortar attacks and heavy machine-gun fire after daybreak.
He says Russian-made tanks have been seen close to the city centre, but there is no sign so far of the ground assault feared by many residents.
Hundreds are reported to have died since the shelling of the city began on Friday. At least 95 people were killed on Monday alone, activists say.
'Honest efforts aborted'
A Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) statement said: "Members have decided to withdraw their ambassadors from Syria and ask at the same time for all the ambassadors of the Syrian regime to leave immediately."
There was "no point in them staying after the Syrian regime rejected all attempts and aborted all honest Arab efforts to solve this crisis and end the bloodshed", it added.
Member states "follow with sorrow and anger, the increase in killing and violence in Syria, which has not spared children, old people or women with heinous acts that at best can be described as mass slaughter".
The GCC said it would urge all other Arab states to adopt "decisive measures" when the Arab League meets next week.
The decision comes a day after the US closed its embassy in Damascus and pulled out all remaining staff.
The UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy have also recalled their ambassadors.
Mr Lavrov called for a solution to the crisis based on initiatives put forward by the Arab League on 2 November 2011 to end the violence, though he has given no indication that Russia supports the league's more recent call for Mr Assad to step down.
He said Damascus was ready for a larger Arab mission to monitor peace efforts, and would set a date for a constitutional referendum.
The Arab League deployed an observer mission to Syria in December but suspended it in late January amid worsening violence.
Later, Syrian state news agency Sana said Mr Assad "reiterated Syria's willingness to work with all efforts towards stability in Syria".
The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says that if Russia got anything from the talks they were not revealing it, and if something was agreed behind the scenes it would become clear in the coming days.
The effect of this on the city of Homs would be a litmus test for any progress the Russians had made, our correspondent says.
The Syrian opposition, meanwhile, has voiced strong criticism of the stalemate at the UN, saying the Russian and Chinese vetoes on Saturday encouraged the Syria government to step up the assault on Homs.
Mr Lavrov has said Western reaction condemning Russia's veto on Saturday bordered on "hysteria".
Moscow has said the draft - which backed an Arab League peace plan calling for President Assad to hand over power - would have forced regime change on Syria.
The Syrian government, which has been fighting an uprising against President Assad's rule since March, says it is fighting foreign-backed armed gangs.
Thousands of former army soldiers have defected to the rebel side, forming the Free Syrian Army.
Syria's interior ministry said operations against "terrorist groups" would continue until "security and order are restored" in Homs.
Human rights groups and activists say more than 7,000 people have been killed by Syrian security forces since the uprising began last March.
The UN stopped estimating the death toll in Syria after it passed 5,400 in January, saying it was too difficult to confirm.
President Assad's government says at least 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed.
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Analysis
Jonathan Marcus
BBC diplomatic correspondent
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After the collapse of efforts to pass a UN Security Council resolution on Syria, all the talk now is of "new initiatives" - Turkey, France, the UK, the Arab League are all promising action.
So what's on offer? First there will be efforts through other parts of the UN system - the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council - to try to increase the pressure on Damascus.
The Arab League may appoint a special envoy for Syria. Momentum is building for a much broader group of countries - perhaps styled as "the Friends of Syria" - to co-ordinate activities and keep the Syria issue in the spotlight.
For now though this is all entirely in the realm of diplomacy. Some may already be filtering arms to Syrian rebel fighters but the international consensus is that external military intervention has no role in this crisis.
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