BEIRUT, Lebanon — Armed clashes erupted in at least three Syrian cities on Friday amid reports of a deadly mortar attack on a major Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, an event that threatened to draw Syria's displaced Palestinian population into its civil war.
The new mayhem, reported in Damascus, Aleppo and Hama, came as the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approved an Arab League-backed resolution denouncing the Syrian government for the conflict. The vote, which carries no enforcement power, came a day after the resignation on Thursday of Kofi Annan, the special peace envoy from the United Nations and the Arab League, who quit in frustration after six months of what he had characterized as an impossible task.
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A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said Russia had done everything possible to support Mr. Annan's peace plan but opposition forces had refused to negotiate, supported by "our Western partners, and certain regional states."
Western nations, led by the United States, have accused Russia of helping to sabotage Mr. Annan's diplomacy and have questioned the need for a United Nations monitoring presence in Syria if there is no viable peace plan to monitor.
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News agencies in Russia, which has a naval refueling base in the Syrian port of Tartus, reported that three warships with 360 marines aboard had been dispatched to the base, raising speculation that they are planning to evacuate the estimated 30,000 Russian citizens in Syria if the situation there continues to worsen. But the Russian Defense Ministry later disputed those reports, saying there are no plans for the ships to dock in Tartus.
The Defense Ministry statement was ambiguous, however, saying the commanding officers of the ships "have the full right to carry out a resupply" that involves a stop in Tartus.
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In Damascus, the Syrian capital, government officials and rebels reported a mortar attack late Thursday on the Yarmouk Palestinian camp, home to 150,000 people.
Syria's state-run SANA news agency blamed the attack on "an armed terrorist group" — its usual name for foes of President Bashar al-Assad — and identified 12 people it said had been killed.
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The Syrian Observatory said at least 133 civilians died in fighting Thursday and reported continued clashes on Friday in and around Damascus, the city of Hama further north, and Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial center, which has been the focus of much of the violence over the past few weeks.
Damien Cave reported from Beirut and Ellen Barry from Moscow. Reporting was contributed by Alan Cowell from London and Rick Gladstone from New York.
