Shelling continued in the besieged Syrian city of Homs early Friday and demonstrators hit the streets, a day after the United Nations General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution condemning the brutal government crackdown on anti-government protesters.

The shelling in the flashpoint city marks the 14th consecutive day of constant bombardment as Syrian forces targeted stronghold neighborhoods of Baba Amr, Inshaat and Khailidya.

CNN journalists in the country witnessed the devastation in places such as Homs .

The bombardment left the streets deserted and many too scared to leave their homes. Those who ventured out feared snipers or government tanks. Inside some damaged homes was the evidence of families that had hastily fled, leaving behind clothes, children’s shoes and toys.

Nine bodies were found Friday morning in several neighborhoods in Homs, said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition activist group.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered for weekly protests after Friday prayer in Idlib, Daraa, Homs, the Damascus suburbs, and Hama among other cities, activists said. Video showed a large crowd of protesters gathered in Daraa on Friday under a banner that read: “Shed the blood, cast off the cowards,” a reference to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Demonstrations were planned in other cities across the war-ravaged nation Friday. And as the carnage continued, the international community struggled to find a way to stop it.

On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly passed by an overwhelming margin a non-binding resolution endorsing the Arab League plan for the Syrian president to step down. The vote was 137 in favor and 12 against, with 17 abstentions.

It is unclear what, if any, effect the resolution will have on what many world leaders see as a relentless campaign by al-Assad’s forces to stamp out opposition.

“Today, the U.N. General Assembly sent a clear message to the people of Syria: the world is with you,” said U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice in a statement Thursday. “Bashar al-Assad has never been more isolated. A rapid transition to democracy in Syria has garnered the resounding support of the international community. Change must now come.”

“For France, this is a new step towards the end of the martyrdom of the Syrian people,” said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe in a statement. “With our partners, we will do our utmost in all instances to make sure this resolution is fully implemented.”

The symbolic resolution was introduced into the General Assembly after China and Russia blocked the Security Council from approving enforceable measures aimed at curbing the violence. China and Russia were among the no votes on Thursday.

Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari lashed out at the vote, calling the League of Arab States “broken, both politically and morally.” He added that, “If things continue in this manner … the United Nations will collapse — morally first and entirely second.”

Asked after the vote about the possibility that Syria would implement a 24-hour cease-fire in the besieged city of Homs to let women, children and the wounded depart the city, he said, “Cease-fire? We are not in a civil war! We are not in an armed conflict!”

The resolution marks the strongest U.N. statement to date condemning al-Assad’s regime. It calls on Syria to end human rights violations and attacks against civilians immediately, and condemns violence by al-Assad’s forces and the opposition.

For nearly a year, al-Assad has denied reports that his forces are targeting civilians, saying they were fighting armed gangs and foreign fighters bent on destabilizing the government.

But the vast majority of accounts from within the country say that Syrian forces are slaughtering civilians as part of a crackdown on anti-government opposition calling for al-Assad’s ouster.

Russia is seen as the linchpin in winning passage of a resolution that could force change in Syria because it could open al-Assad’s regime up to U.N. sanctions. It also could expose the president and his inner circle to possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

Syria is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC’s authority. The Security Council is the only world body that can refer crimes against humanity to the international court.

Russia, a Soviet-era ally with trade and arms ties to Syria, has been adamantly opposed to a resolution that calls for al-Assad to step down, saying it amounts to a mandate for regime change.

Russia has given mixed messages as to whether it would accept a U.N. arms embargo or economic sanctions, even though it has said it is concerned about the prospect of a Syrian civil war.

Meanwhile, China announced Thursday that it was sending an envoy to Syria in an attempt to help defuse the crisis, according to state-run China National Radio (CNR).

Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun is scheduled to travel Friday to Syria for a two-day visit, CNR said. The report did not say with whom the minister would meet.

At least 70 people died Thursday across several provinces, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist group. They include 38 in Idlib, 12 in Hama, and others in Rif Damashq — the Damascus suburbs, Homs, Daraa , Deir Ezzor and Raqqah. The LCC said the casualties included 36 unidentified bodies, 13 soldiers and three women, at least one of whom was pregnant.

Col. Malek Al Kurdi, deputy head of the Free Syrian Army, reported shelling by government forces in Hama and Daraa province. He cited civilian and FSA casualties.

Among the dead are 10 military defectors in Hama, activists say.

Ahmed, an activist in Damascus who said he had been in contact with LCC members in Hama, said about 100 people were arrested in the city, where bread, gasoline, electricity and medical supplies were in short supply. He said some 60 people had been killed in the area during the prior 11 days, 47 of them on Thursday in Kafranbode village outside Hama. The approximately 200 people who were wounded were not taken to hospitals for fear that security forces would abduct them, he said.

CNN cannot independently confirm opposition and government reports of violence because the Syrian government has severely restricted the access of international journalists.

The uprising in Syria — influenced by the Arab Spring movement that forced regime change in Egypt and Tunisia — was sparked about a year ago in the southern city of Daraa with demonstrators angered by the arrests of young people who scrawled anti-government graffiti.

Their grievances and calls for reforms were met with a violent security crackdown, and the unrest there served to catalyze anti-government protests across the nation.

Thousands have died in the crackdown — more than 5,000, according to the United Nations, but the LCC puts the toll at more than 7,000.

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