A sea of cheering regime supporters gave a hero's welcome to Russia's Sergei Lavrov, who said Assad knew his responsibilities, in comments as the talks kicked off. "Every leader in every country should be aware of his share of responsibility. You are aware of yours," Lavrov said as he turned to Assad, according to Russian news agencies. "We hope that the Arab people can live in peace and understanding," added the Russian envoy, who was accompanied by Russian Foreign Intelligence Service head Mikhail Fradkov. Syrian state news agency SANA said Lavrov arrived amid a "huge popular reception in appreciation of Russia's support to Syria, people and its reform programme." "Huge crowds flocked to ... greet Minister Lavrov and express appreciation of Russia's stances," it said. State television aired footage of regime supporters waving Syrian and Russian flags as they lined the streets, many chanting: "Thank you Russia, thank you China." "I want to thank Russia and China for their stand in support of the Syrian people," one woman said, before crowds swarmed to greet Lavrov's convoy. The precise purpose of the Russian diplomatic mission has been kept tightly under wraps since it was first announced at the weekend. Ahead of their arrival, reports had said Lavrov and Fradkov might try to persuade Assad to quit. But the defiant regime, which has been rocked by an uprising for almost 11 months, was in no mood to make any concessions. Government troops on Tuesday renewed their deadly assault on Homs for a fourth day, aiming rockets and shells at areas under the control of army defectors. Activists said the 15 civilians and four soldiers were killed on Tuesday, including nine civilians in Homs. Syria's interior ministry vowed to push on with its Homs onslaught in a bid to rid the region of what it said were "armed terrorist gangs," in statement carried by SANA. "Operations to hunt down terrorist groups will continue until security and order are re-established in all neighbourhoods of Homs and its environs and until we overcome all armed persons terrorising citizens and threatening their life," it added. Shooting thought to be from outgunned rebels echoed across the Homs neighbourhood of Baba Amr in the morning in response to the new wave of shells and rockets. Abu Rami, an activist AFP reached by telephone from Beirut, said the explosions had continued through the night. "There are about four blasts every five minutes," he said. "Since this morning the shelling has been concentrated in the neighbourhoods of Baba Amr, Inshaat and Jubar. "The humanitarian situation is dire. No one can move around. There are snipers everywhere," he added. Other activists reached by telephone have said food and medicine were in short supply. The clashes come a day after nearly 100 civilians were killed across Syria, activists said, with the majority dying in the fierce onslaught on Homs and its environs, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Rights groups say more than 6,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of the revolt mid-March. The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, said at least 400 children have been killed. Lavrov's trip comes after Russia disgusted the West and Syrian opposition activists on Saturday by vetoing, along with China, a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Assad regime's crackdown on protesters. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Lavrov refused to divulge the purpose of the mission. "When you go on a mission on the order of the head of state then the purpose of the mission is usually only revealed to the person it is addressed to. If I tell you everything now, then what is the point?" Western powers were outraged at the vetoes of Russia and China, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling them a "travesty." US President Barack Obama shied away from talk of military intervention and vowed to pursue diplomatic means. "It is important to resolve this without recourse to outside military intervention and I think that's possible," he said in an NBC television interview. Russia and China both defended their vetoes, with Lavrov saying Monday the Western reactions were "indecent and bordering on hysteria." Beijing expressed hope Lavrov's visit would succeed, and said it was considering sending its own envoys to help resolve the conflict. Turkey, which shares a long border with Syria, said it would launch a "new initiative" with like-minded countries which "stand by the Syrian people, not the regime." Iran's official IRNA news agency said Tehran was also to dispatch a deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, to the Syrian capital on Tuesday, for a visit aimed at discussing "bilateral relations and regional issues." A day after Washington closed its Damascus embassy, France and Italy joined Britain and Belgium in recalling their ambassadors to Syria, although the European Union said it had no such plans of its own. As the death toll mounted, the opposition Syrian National Council and Free Syrian Army urged businessmen across the strife-torn country and throughout the Arab world to fund the rebel forces seeking the overthrow of Assad's regime.