Arab League members Sunday called for a joint peacekeeping mission in Syria with the United Nations and urged members to support the Syrian opposition as it faces a bloody government crackdown.

The moves are aimed at putting additional pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, which has unleashed its army on a popular revolt. The proposed peacekeeping mission would oversee the aftermath of a cease-fire, the Cairo-based Arab League announced Sunday.

But Syria quickly said it was not on board with the idea. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in January, and the Syrian government announced that any decision made without it "is not binding."

The proposal reflects "the state of hysteria affecting some Arab governments, especially Qatar and Saudi Arabia, after Qatar's failure to pass a U.N. resolution that allows foreign intervention in Syria," according the Syrian government.

The league, which suspended Syria in January, said its members have decided to end the previous monitoring mission, which had been in Syria in December and January, to request a joint U.N.- Arab League peacekeeping mission. A communiqué issued after Sunday's meeting called on members to "open channels of communication" with Syrian opposition groups and provide "political and financial support." It urged members to cut diplomatic and economic ties with Damascus "except for those that directly affect Syrian citizens."

And it warned, "The use of violence against Syrian civilians with this extreme cruelty, including the targeting of women and children, lies under the jurisdiction of the international criminal law and requires the punishment of its perpetrators."

The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists, praised the Arab League for "making the decision to improve its performance in its national and humanitarian duty to the Syrian people."

"We therefore appeal to brotherly and friendly nations, international organizations and non-governmental organizations around the world to expedite development and relief programs to help Syrians in overcoming the daily oppression and injustice under which they live," the LCC said. "We also call on all Syrian political and activist entities to coordinate their efforts under a consolidated framework to ensure that relief supplies and other assistance are delivered immediately to those who need them."

U.N. officials say about 6,000 have been killed since last March, when al-Assad began cracking down on peaceful protests against his government. Syria has consistently blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the violence, and its allies, Russia and China, vetoed a U.N. resolution February 4 that was aimed at bringing an end to the strife.

The Arab League said Sunday it would ask the United Nations to consider its initiative "as soon as possible," although the timetable for any action is unknown. And earlier, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby signaled that he'd had recent communications with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicating that Moscow may alter its positions.

In a written statement, Elaraby quoted a letter he said was written by Lavrov, stating that an end to "any violence must be the main pillar for any proposal."

"We are ready to support an expanded monitoring mission and folding it under the joint care of the Arab League and the United Nations on the basis of an agreement from all involved parties," Elaraby quoted Lavrov.

There was no immediate comment from Russia's government about the reported communication or any significant shift in that nation's position.

Also Sunday, former Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah al-Khatib was named the league's envoy to Syria, Jordan's state news agency Petra reported. He will replace Lt. Gen. Mohammad Ahmad al-Dabi, of Sudan as head of the monitoring mission.

The latest maneuvering came as opposition activists reported another day of shelling by Syrian forces around the city of Homs.

One opposition activist said government forces are using detained civilians as human shields, placing them on tanks to prevent the opposition Free Syrian Army from fighting back. Residents say shelling rained on the city's Baba Amr neighborhood once again Sunday, for at least the eighth straight day.

"My house is dancing. I am almost dead because of the siege," said the opposition activist, named Omar.

CNN cannot independently confirm details of the fighting in Syria because the government has severely limited the access of international journalists. But despite denials by Syria, virtually all reports from within the country indicate al-Assad's forces are slaughtering protesters and other civilians en masse.

In Damascus, meanwhile, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported that al-Assad has received a copy of a new constitution -- a development it said shows Syria's serious moves toward reform.

"When the new constitution is approved, Syria will have passed the most important stage of laying down the constitutional and legal structure ... to take the country to a new era of cooperation with all spectrums of the Syrian people to achieve what we all aspire for in terms of developing our country to draw a brilliant future for next generations," SANA quoted al-Assad.