Britain and France said on Wednesday they had little confidence in promises made by Syria to Russia over the violent crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Assad's promises to Russia to work towards ending bloodshed in Syria were merely manipulation and should not be believed, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, as British Prime Minister David Cameron said London had "very little confidence in that."

U.N. rights chief Navi Pillay called Wednesday for urgent international action to protect civilians in Syria, as troops continued to shell the city of Homs, a center of protest in the country.

"I am appalled by the Syrian government's willful assault on Homs, and its use of artillery and other heavy weaponry in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas in the city," said a statement from Pillay.

The European Union is making contingency plans in case it needs to evacuate EU citizens from Syria and is mulling a ban on flights into and out of the country, senior officials said Wednesday.

The suspension of commercial flights is among a raft of new sanctions being debated by the EU in the face of an unrelenting crackdown on opponents in Syria after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution to end the violence.

Turkey plans an international conference "as soon as possible" with regional players and world powers to solve the Syrian crisis, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"We are determined to establish a broad-based forum to promote international understanding with all countries concerned" with the developments in Syria, Ahmet Davutoglu said in a televised interview.

Armed "terrorist" groups on Wednesday attacked the oil refinery in Syria's embattled central city of Homs, setting two storage tanks ablaze, state television reported.

"Armed terrorist groups shelled the refinery in Homs, setting two fuel depots on fire," the television said, adding later that the fire had been brought under control.

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in New York for medical treatment after agreeing to step down following months of protests, has vowed to return to vote in presidential polls, state media said.

Saleh told visitors that he would "participate" in the snap election on February 21, in which his deputy Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi is the sole candidate, Saba state news agency reported late on Tuesday.

Diehard supporters of slain Moammar Gadhafi might carry out attacks on February 17, the anniversary of the uprising against the former Libyan strongman, Libya's army chief said on Wednesday.

"We should be careful. On February 17 there might be problems from loyalists of Gadhafi," Colonel Youssef al-Mangush told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with the military attaches of foreign embassies in Tripoli.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, back from talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, pointedly declined to say Wednesday whether Moscow asked the embattled leader to go, stressing that Syrians themselves should decide his fate.

"Any outcome of national dialogue should be the result of agreement between the Syrians themselves and should be acceptable to all Syrians," Lavrov told reporters.

Syrian forces pressed a relentless assault on the protest city of Homs Wednesday, with dozens of civilians reported killed.

The barrage of gunfire, mortars and shells was launched at daybreak and continued during the day. State television said a car bomb had ripped through the central city, killing and wounding civilians as well as security officers.

Algeria Tuesday said parliamentary seats would be increased from 389 to 462 in the general election to be held in May.

The decision was announced following a cabinet meeting headed by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.