Scores of Syrians arrived on Monday in northern Lebanon, fleeing the central city of Homs following reports of women and children being massacred in the protest hub.

"We ran away after we heard of the massacre in Karm el-Zaytoun and after families from the neighborhood told us what happened there," Um Mohammed told an Agence France Presse reporter after arriving in the coastal Lebanese city of Tripoli with her husband and daughter.

The Phalange Party condemned on Monday the security forces’ “spiteful” actions against the Phalange Party and National Liberal Party student rally on Saturday, saying that the demonstrators were expressing their opinions peacefully and under the rule of law.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “The security forces’ practices are reminiscent of the actions of the security apparatus the ruled Lebanon in the past.”

International mediator Kofi Annan called Monday for an immediate halt to the killing of civilians in Syria as he arrived in Turkey for talks on the crisis.

"The killing of civilians must end now. The world must give a clear message that this is unacceptable," Annan, who is mediating on behalf of the United Nations and Arab League, said in comments carried by Turkey's NTV channel.

Western nations on Monday stepped up pleas to Russia and China to end their blockage on U.N. Security Council action over the Syrian government's deadly assault on protest cities.

But Russia showed little sign of that it would change it stance, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slamming "risky recipes" which he said risked increasing conflict in the Middle East.

Syrian regime stalwart and former defense minister Mustafa Tlass has arrived in Paris with one of his sons but they are not defecting, opposition representatives told Agence France Presse on Monday.

Tlass arrived in France from Syria with his wife and his businessman son Firas, the Paris-based opponents said. His other son Manaf, an officer in the Syrian regime's military, is believed still to be in Damascus.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are backing "armed terrorist gangs" operating in Syria and so are responsible for the bloodshed in the country, Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud told Agence France Presse on Monday.

"Some of the countries backing armed terrorist gangs, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are accomplices to the terrorism targeting the Syrian people ... and bear responsibility for the bloodletting," he said.

U.N.-Arab League peace envoy on Syria, Kofi Annan, held talks with top Qatari officials on Monday after a weekend trip to Damascus where he urged leaders to end the bloodshed there, the official Qatari news agency reported.

Annan, who arrived in Doha on Sunday, met with the emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to "review the developments in Syria," according to a statement released by the QNA news agency.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat urged on Monday Syria’s Druze population to abandon the ruling regime, warning them against “getting their hands covered with the blood of the Syrian people.”

He told France 24 television: “I caution the Druze against getting embroiled in any sectarian strife with the Sunnis because that will spell their end.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri noted on Monday that the latest “massacre committed by the Syrian regime” in Homs coincided with the Israeli assault on Gaza over the weekend.

He said in a statement: “The latest massacre committed by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad against innocent people not only condemns the regime, but the international community for its lack of humanity.”

An arrest warrant has been issued on Monday against a Lebanese citizen on charges of firing at members of the Syrian border guard, reported the National News Agency.

Military court judge Imad al-Zein issued the warrant against the detainee for the incident that took place at al-Qaa on August 19, 2011 and left one person dead.