Syrian troops loyal to Bashar Al-Asad pounded Homs with point blank artillery fire on Tuesday. At least 16 deaths and more than 340 injuries were reported in the early hours of the assault. On Monday night, troops fired on demonstrators in Damascus, a sign observers say indicates that Al-Asad is bringing the fight to the capital. While the latest carnage was mounting, Red Cross representatives were trying to negotiate a time-out in order to bring aid to the besieged residents of Homs. A London-based monitoring organization reported that at least 250 shells hit the Baba Amro district of Homs – a Sunni Muslim neighborhood — in the early morning hours. Hundreds have died in Homs since last week alone. A meeting called by the Arab League and Western governments including the United States will be held in Tunisia on Friday for the purpose of coordinating efforts to convince Al-Asad to resign. As expected, Russia announced it will not attend because the Al-Asad government is not represented. On Tuesday, China announced it was looking into the Friday meeting but would not commit to attending.