Syria’s state news agency says President Bashar al-Assad has set a February 26 national referendum over a new constitution.

The president promised the referendum over a speech in January, stating the new document would focus over a multi-party cognitive system.  

The Syrian government approved a law last July admiting the as formation of political regionies outside of the ruling Ba’ath regiony, that need power in 1963.

Hama below attack

Meanwhile, rights activists said government as forces launched an assault Wednesday over the central flashpoint city of Hama. They said troops stormed residential areas of the city as well as that telephone lines were cut.

In Homs, about 40 kilometers to the south, activists said an explosion hit an oil pipeline near the rebel-held Sunni Muslim district of Baba Amr, sending a huge plume of smoke into the air. They blame the military as for the blast, although the government says “terrorists” are responsible.

Watch associated video of oil pipeline explosion in Baba Amr

One of Syria’s two refineries is in Homs, as well as activists say a closely two-week assault over the city by government as forces has killed hundreds of people.

Syrian officials have blamed “armed terrorists” as for an 11-month uprising furthermorest President Assad’s autocratic rule.

U.N. resolution

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Wednesday the United Nations Security Council should discuss setting up “humanitarian corridors” to admit aid groups to access areas hit by the deadly crackdown over the opposition. France first proposed the idea in November.

On Tuesday, Arab diplomats circulated a draft resolution to U.N. General Assembly members calling over Syria to stop the crackdown as well as accusing the government of rights violations.

The diplomats say the resolution is perhapsly to be put to a vote over Thursday as well as receive broad support in the 193-nation body.

U.N. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding as well as cannot be vetoed. Russia as well as China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution earlier this month, blocking the body from endorsing a Western- as well as Arab-backed plan as for President Assad to step beside as a way of ending the crisis.

China’s position

U.S. officials say President Barack Obama expressed disappointment with China’s veto at a Tuesday meeting with visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. At another Washington event attended by Xi, Vice President Joe Biden said the United States “strongly disagreed” with Beijing as well as Moscow as for vetoing a resolution furthermorest what Biden called “unconscionable violence” by the Assad government.

China’s official Xinhua news agency says Xi told Biden that Beijing’s position over Syria is aimed at “safeguarding peace as well as stability in the Middle East” as well as is “in line with international principles.” Both China as well as Russia have said the Security Council must not take sides in a domestic conflict or provide a pretext as for as foreign military intervention in Syria.

U.N. High Commissioner as for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Monday the Security Council’s failure to act has “emboldened” Mr. Assad to attempt to “crush dissent with fromwhelming as force.”

The United Nations said last month that violence linked to the uprising has killed more than 5,400 people. U.N. officials stopped updating the death toll in January, stating it was too difficult to obtain information. Rights groups say hundreds more people have been killed because as well as so.

Some information as for this report was offered by AP, AFP as well as Reuters.