Bombardment in Homs

Bombardment in Homs.

Amateur video out of Syria shows empty streets in the rebellious city.

The video, which could not be independently verified by Reuters shows smoke rising from buildings amid the sound of relentless fire.

Activists and residents say hundreds of people have been killed over the past week as government forces try stamp out opposition in Homs.

As dawn broke Thursday, rocket and mortar fire rained down again on Homs.

The United Nations chief has condemned the ferocity of the government assault on Homs, which has been at the heart of a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters that he feared the quote "appalling brutality" witnessed in Homs and said it was "a grim harbinger of things to come."

With concern growing over the plight of civilians, the United States says it is considering ways to get food and medicine to them. Such a move could deepen international involvement in a conflict which has wide geopolitical dimensions and has caused division between major foreign powers.

Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.