Syrian regime forces have seized full control of the Baba Amr district of powderkeg Homs after rebels pulled out "tactically" in the face of relentless shelling and a deadly ground assault.

With the rebel fighters in retreat, the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) said in Paris that its newly-created "military bureau" would from now on coordinate the armed resistance against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The all-out assault on Homs's defiant neighbourhood came as international envoy Kofi Annan said he hopes to go to Damascus with a clear message that the "violence must stop," and the UN Human Rights Council called on Damascus to allow relief supplies in to besieged protest cities.

Gulf states, which have been at the forefront of international calls to supply arms to the rebels, said they will hold talks next week with key Damascus ally Moscow, which has so far blocked Arab and Western efforts to take action through the UN Security Council.

Britain announced that it was following the United States in closing its embassy and pulling out its remaining diplomats in response to the "deterioration of the security situation in Damascus."

Rebel fighters said today they had pulled out from Baba Amr after nearly two days of an all-out assault by the dreaded Fourth Armoured Division, led by a younger brother of President Bashar al-Assad, Maher.

Rebels "have pulled out tactically in order to protect the remaining civilians," said Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, the leader of the free Syrian Army, which is made up mostly of deserters.

A Syrian security official said in Damascus that the army was in total command of the rebel bastion.

"The Syrian army controls all of Baba Amr. The last pockets of resistance have fallen," the official told AFP on the 27th day of bombardment targeting the defiant neighbourhood.

State television aired footage it said was filmed inside Baba Amr, including interviews with people it said were residents angry with the rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 21 people were killed in Homs on Thursday, including 17 civilians caught up in the battle for control of Baba Amr.

The opposition SNC said the military bureau, announced on Wednesday, would coordinate the flow of weapons to the rebels following mounting calls from Gulf Arab states for arms to be delivered despite US fears that Al-Qaeda may exploit any further militarisation of the crisis.

"The SNC will be this link between those who want to help and the revolutionaries," its leader Burhan Ghalioun told reporters in Paris.

"It is out of the question that arms go into Syria in confusion," he added.

Ghalioun said he had no up-to-date news on the whereabouts of wounded French journalist Edith Bouvier, who has been trapped in Baba Amr despite Red Cross efforts to evacuate her, but said she had been "in a protected place" on Wednesday.

Spanish journalist Javier Espinosa managed to escape to neighbouring Lebanon and is "in perfect health," his employer, El Mundo newspaper, said.

Former UN secretary general Annan, the new international mediator for Syria, said he hopes to be in Damascus "fairly soon" with a "clear" message -- that the deadly violence must end and aid agencies be allowed to work.

"I think the message is clear: that the killing and violence must stop, humanitarian agencies must be given access to do their work," he said.

UN political chief B Lynn Pascoe told the Security Council on Tuesday that "well over 7,500" people have been killed since Assad's forces began a crackdown on anti-regime protests that erupted in March last year.

A resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday condemned the "continued widespread and systematic violations of human rights" and called on Damascus allow aid organisations and UN agencies to deliver desperately needed supplies.

Russia, Cuba and China voted against the resolution while India, the Philippines and Ecuador abstained.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, lambasted Russia for its failure to produce an aid plan for Syria, despite Moscow's great influence with Assad.

"We are doing everything we can think of to influence the Russians and the Chinese, particularly the Russians: they're the ones with the very deep, long-standing relationship with the Assad family," Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington.

The Syrian foreign ministry said it was willing to discuss a date for a visit by UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, after her announcement on Wednesday that she had been turned away prompted an outcry.

Amos had "requested to come to Syria at a time that was not suitable for us. We are willing to continue discussions with her about a time suitable for both sides," a ministry statement said.

Russia today strongly urged Damascus to allow Amos into the country to assess the situation in Homs.

US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, had said it was "shameful that Assad has denied access" to the UN humanitarian chief at a time when his troops were intensifying their attacks on protest cities such as Homs

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.