Turkey closed its embassy in Syria Monday, further isolating President Bashar Al-Assad, whose forces again bombarded the battered city of Homs with mortars in an effort to quell unrest. Meanwhile, Norway said Monday it was closing its embassy in Damascus for security reasons, following other countries that have done the same for safety concerns or to protest against the regime's crackdown. A Norwegian diplomat will remain in Damascus, working from the Danish embassy to handle Norway's affairs, the foreign ministry said. At the beginning of February, Oslo announced it was reducing its diplomatic staff in the Syrian capital amid the spreading violence. Video showed towering flames and thick black smoke billowing from at least two locations in Homs, Syria's third largest city, which has become the epicenter for the year-long revolt. Residents accused the army of indiscriminate shelling. “Every day the shelling goes on. The regime is wiping out the city,” said Waleed Faris, an activist who lives in Homs. Following the example of many Arab and Western states, Turkey said it had suspended all activities at its embassy as the security situation worsened. Once a close ally of Assad, Turkey has denounced his efforts to crush the rebellion and has thrown its weight behind his opponents, announcing on Sunday that it would work with Washington to provide “non-lethal” aid to the Syrian opposition. Kofi Annan, the joint envoy for the UN and Arab League, was due to fly to China later in the day as part of an effort to persuade all major powers to put pressure on Assad to accept the terms of his six-point peace plan. Annan met Russian leaders on Sunday and won assurances that Moscow was fully behind his initiative, which calls for Assad to back a ceasefire and let in humanitarian aid, but does not demand that he quit - something Western powers are pushing for. Both Russia and China have previously vetoed UN Security Council resolutions highly critical of Damascus, drawing accusations that they were giving Assad a licence to kill.
