Claims and counterclaims of fresh killings in Syria’s battered central city of Homs emerged on Monday, a day after a United Nations envoy ended two days of meetings with President Bashar al-Assad without securing a deal to end the nearly year-old conflict. Related Military Points to Risks of a Syrian Intervention (March 12, 2012) Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors With heavy shelling reported at the weekend in the northern province of Idlib, activist groups quoted in news reports said a dozen and possibly as many as 45 people, including children, died overnight. Activist videos posted online purported to attest to the killing and mutilation of children and six dead adults were shown covered with sheets, The Associated Press reported. But, in a counterclaim reflecting a propaganda war accompanying the bloody crackdown on dissent, the SANA state news agency on Monday accused “the terrorist armed groups” — code for the government’s armed opponents and army defectors — of responsibility. “The terrorist armed groups have kidnapped scores of civilians in the city of Homs, central Syria, killed, and mutilated their corpses and filmed them to be shown by media outlets. A media source asserted that the footage of the corpses presented by some satellite TV stations belong to the civilians, who were kidnapped by the terrorist armed groups,” SANA said. The Syrian government routinely refers to its opponents, including armed men, army defectors and protesters, as terrorists. The conflicting versions agreed only on one point: that more civilians had died, adding to the United Nations estimate of some 7,500 since the crackdown began a year ago in what has become the bloodiest of the Arab uprisings. The continued bloodletting offered a grim backdrop to the just-ended mission of the peace envoy, Kofi Annan, a former secretary general of the United Nations, whose efforts to seek a negotiated settlement were endorsed by both the United Nations and the Arab League. As he left Syria, he said he remained optimistic about the possibility of an agreement, but he acknowledged the difficulties. “You have to start by stopping the killing and the misery and the abuse that is going on today and then give time for a political settlement,” Reuters quoted him as saying. “It’s going to be difficult, but we have hope.” In a statement released by his office after the meeting, Mr. Annan said that he had left several proposals with Syrian officials. He said he asked Mr. Assad to acknowledge the new realities of his country, citing an African proverb: “You cannot turn the wind, so turn the sail.” A diplomat close to the talks said, “The ball is in Assad’s court,” adding that Mr. Annan would also try to persuade the fractured Syrian opposition to form a more united front. Mr. Annan flew to Qatar on Sunday for talks with that country’s emir, a leading critic of the Syrian government who has called for arming the rebels. For the moment, Mr. Assad has shown little interest in a political settlement, nor have many of his opponents. Mr. Assad told Mr. Annan on Saturday that no political deal was possible while “armed terrorists” were operating in the country. Many of his opponents have said that Mr. Assad must step down before any negotiations take place. Arab League officials were hoping that a peace plan agreed to on Saturday between Arab foreign ministers and Russia could pave the way for a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria. In the proposal, Arab League members dropped their demand that Mr. Assad step down and said there should be no “foreign interference” in the conflict, meeting some of the demands of Russia and China, which have vetoed previous resolutions. The league’s secretary general, Nabil al-Araby, is scheduled to meet with a Chinese official next week, his office said. The Syrian military offensive continued Sunday in Idlib, according to activists there. Shelling in the area, which started before dawn, could be heard miles away in Turkey, The Associated Press reported. An activist reached by Skype in Idlib Province said that the army stormed the village of Janoudiyah, near the city of Jisr al-Shoughour, and several neighborhoods in Idlib city. The Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group, said at least one child was killed during the shelling of Janoudiyah. The death could not immediately be confirmed. Residents have been fleeing the area for weeks, fearing that the government would focus on Idlib after a monthlong siege of the city of Homs, another stronghold of armed opponents of Mr. Assad’s government. People who have not been able to stay with relatives in Syria have fled to Turkey. On Sunday, one of the refugees, a 23-year-old man, died trying to cross a river near the border, according to a soldier who had defected. “We’re trying to pick up his body with iron bars,” the soldier said by Skype. “Our attempts are failing because of continuous shooting. The water is so deep.” The SANA state news agency said that a well-known boxer, Ghaith Tayfour, was assassinated on Sunday in the northern city of Aleppo. The agency said that gunmen opened fire on Mr. Tayfour’s car as he passed Aleppo University, hitting him five times in the head. Though Aleppo has been mostly spared from violence during the conflict, assassinations have become more frequent. Opposition fighters associated with the rebel Free Syrian Army have claimed responsibility for some of the killings, including of prominent businessmen who they say support Mr. Assad’s government.
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