Syria launches fierce attack as U.N. envoy pushes ahead with talks Rodrigo Abd / AP Women and children take shelter from fierce fighting between the Free Syrian Army and government troops in Idlib, north Syria, on Saturday. Syrian government forces pounded a city in the north of the country as U.N. envoy Kofi Annan reportedly got ready to hold a second meeting with President Bashar Assad to discuss proposals for stopping the ongoing violence on Sunday. In his talks with Assad on Saturday, Annan made several proposals but was rebuffed by the president who rejected any immediate negotiations with the opposition. An official told The Associated Press that Annan is scheduled to meet again with Assad before heading to the Gulf state of Qatar. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Syrian forces have been building up for days around Idlib, the capital of a hilly, agricultural province along the Syria-Turkey border that has been a hotbed of protests against Assad's regime. Saturday morning, troops blasted Idlib for hours with dozens of tank shells as the forces moved to encircle the town, an Associated Press team in Idlib reported. Khaled Al-Hariri / Reuters U.N. envoy Kofi Annan, left, and Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem enter a restaurant to attend a working lunch in Damascus on Saturday. Families fled their homes, carrying blankets and a few other meager belongings. Others huddled in homes. Assad on Saturday rejected any immediate negotiations with the opposition, striking a further blow to already staggering international efforts for talks to end to the conflict. Assad told Annan that a political solution is impossible as long as "terrorist groups" threaten the country. The opposition's political leadership has also rejected dialogue, saying talk is impossible after a yearlong crackdown that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 7,500 people. That makes it likely that the conflict will continue to edge toward civil war. Blunt talks Annan held blunt talks with Assad this weekend but appeared to be making little headway, as the Syrian president blamed political bloodshed on "terrorists." Annan on Saturday made proposals on stopping the violence between security forces and the opposition in the year-old revolt against Assad, access for humanitarian agencies, release of detainees and the start of political dialogue. The talks were "candid and comprehensive," a spokesman quoted Annan as saying. Assad told U.N./Arab League envoy Annan that Syria was "ready to make a success of any honest effort to find a solution for the events it is witnessing," state news agency SANA reported. "No political dialogue or political activity can succeed while there are armed terrorist groups operating and spreading chaos and instability," he said. Britain's Guardian newspaper reported that military reinforcements had been flowing into Idlib for days, including dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers, according to activists. The Idlib operation raised fears that Assad is set to launch an all-out offensive in Idlib like the one that captured captured part of Homs in the south. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad indicated to UN Arab League envoy Kofi Annan that there could be no cease-fire deal against opponents he called "terrorist" gangs. NBC's John Ray reports. Meanwhile, Russia defended its stance after it and China vetoed a a security council resolution that would have supported an Arab League peace plan calling on Assad to cede power. In a tense meeting with Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov defended his country. "We are not protecting any regimes," he said. We certainly believe that all outside actors must be extremely careful in addressing problems which your countries are facing. Qatari Prime Minster Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani struck back. "There are no armed gangs, there are systematic killings," he said.