- "We are at a tipping point," Annan says
- Japan says it is expelling the Syrian ambassador in Tokyo
- It joins 10 other nations expelling Syrian envoys, including the United States and Britain
- Opposition activists: At least 10 people are killed in attacks Wednesday
(CNN) -- Fresh bloodshed in Syria on Wednesday underlined once again that soaring Western condemnation in the wake of a massacre has done little to halt the tide of violence.
Regime forces battled with rebels in various areas, including the capital of Damascus and the provinces of Damascus Countryside, Aleppo and Hama.
Intense shelling destroyed homes in Homs, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based opposition group . Shelling was also reported in the cities of Douma, Haish and Kafromah, the group said.
At least 10 people were killed, including five in Douma, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
International envoy Kofi Annan met President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus this week to renew his appeal for the regime to stop the violence against its people.
Annan said he expressed the international community's concerns over the attacks, including the recent Houla massacre that left more than 100 dead, including many children.
Jean-Marie Guehenno, the deputy joint special envoy on Syria, will update the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday as international outrage soared over the massacre, with Japan saying it is expelling the Syrian ambassador in Tokyo.
A total of 11 nations -- including the United States -- have said they are expelling Syrian envoys in a coordinated action over the killings. In addition to Japan and the U.S., the Netherlands, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Canada all announced that they are expelling some Syrian diplomats.
In some cases, it was just the ambassadors; in others, numerous diplomats. The United States gave the Syrian charge d'affaires and his family 72 hours to leave, two State Department officials said. Zouheir Jabbour has been the top Syrian envoy in the United States since the ambassador was called back to Syria last year.
Annan said he urged the opposition to cease violence and called on al-Assad to implement "bold steps now -- not tomorrow, now -- to create momentum for the implementation" of a peace plan that includes a cease-fire.
"If the plan is not implemented, I would worry for the future of Syria. I would worry about stability in the country," he said. "If we do not (implement the plan), may God help us."
Sticking to past assertions, Al-Assad blamed the attacks on "terrorist groups," saying they have escalated killings and kidnappings, Syrian state-run TV reported.
But residents in Houla say Syrian regime forces terrorized the town, a suburb of the anti-government bastion of Homs.
A small number was killed by shelling, artillery and tank fire while the majority appeared to have been executed, said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. human rights office.
Colville said government forces were involved in the massacre, but the regime has denied it and pledged to conduct an investigation.
"We are at a tipping point," Annan said. "The Syrian people do not want the future to be one of bloodshed and division. Yet the killings continue and the abuses are still with us today."
U.N. officials say more than 9,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed and tens of thousands more have been uprooted since the anti-government protests began in March 2011. Opposition groups report a death toll of more than 11,000 people.
CNN cannot confirm death tolls and reports of violence from Syria because the government limits access by foreign journalists.
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