Dozens killed as Syrian army storms Hama

Syrian tanks firing shells and machineguns stormed the city of Hama on Sunday, killing at least 80 civilians in a move to crush demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, rights activists and residents said.

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The Associated Press, meanwhile, reported that at least 49 people have been killed in Hama. Syrian authorities have expelled most independent journalists since the unrest began in March, making it difficult to verify reports of violence and casualties.

Demonstrations calling for Assad's ouster are expected to swell during Ramadan, which starts Monday, in Syria. Security forces appeared to be racing against time as they stormed and raided cities and small villages across the country in an attempt to crush a remarkably resilient uprising that began in mid-March.

Having sealed off the main roads into the opposition stronghold of Hama almost a month ago, army troops in tanks pushed into the city from four sides before daybreak Sunday in a coordinated assault. Residents shouted "God is great!" and threw firebombs, stones and sticks at the tanks. The crackle of gunfire and thud of tank shells echoed across the city, and clouds of black smoke drifted over rooftops.

"It's a massacre. They want to break Hama before the month of Ramadan," an eyewitness who identified himself by his first name, Ahmed, told The Associated Press by telephone from Hama, where at least 49 people were killed Sunday.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he was appalled by the Syrian government's use of violence against its people in Hama and promised to work with others to isolate Assad. "The reports out of Hama are horrifying and demonstrate the true character of the Syrian regime," Obama said in a statement.

"Syria will be a better place when a democratic transition goes forward. In the days ahead, the United States will continue to increase our pressure on the Syrian regime, and work with others around the world to isolate the Assad government and stand with the Syrian people."

Dozens were wounded in the assault by gunfire and the tank barrage, and scores of bodies littered Hama's' streets, The Guardian reported.

A doctor, who did not want to be further identified for fear of arrest, told Reuters that the city's Badr, al-Horani and Hikmeh hospitals had received 19, three and two dead bodies respectively.

Many were wounded and blood for transfusions was in short supply, he said by telephone from the city, which has a population of around 700,000.

"Tanks are attacking from four directions. They are firing their heavy machineguns randomly and overrunning makeshift road blocks erected by the inhabitants," the doctor said, the sound of machinegun fire crackling in the background.

Syrian authorities have expelled most independent journalists, making it difficult to verify reports of violence.

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "appalled" by the attacks in Syria and called on the government to stop them immediately.

"Such action against civilians who have been protesting peacefully in large numbers in the city for a number of weeks has no justification," he said in a statement Sunday. "The attack appears to be part of a coordinated effort across a number of towns in Syria to deter the Syrian people from protesting in advance of Ramadan."

Site of 1982 massacre
Hama was the scene of a massacre in 1982 when Assad's father, the late president Hafez al-Assad, sent his troops to crush an Islamist-led uprising, razing whole neighborhoods and killing up to 30,000 people in the bloodiest episode of Syria's modern history.

Another resident said that bodies were lying uncollected in the streets and so the death toll would rise. Army snipers had climbed onto the roofs of the state-owned electricity company and the main prison, he said.

Tank shells were falling at the rate of four a minute in and around northern Hama, residents said, and electricity and water supplies to the main neighborhoods had been cut ? a tactic used regularly by the military when storming towns to crush protests.

Assad is trying to end an uprising against his 11-year rule that broke out in March, inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and has spread across the country.

In southern Syria, rights campaigners said security forces killed three civilians when they stormed houses in the town of al-Hirak, 20 miles northeast of the city of Deraa.

Local activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that dozens of people, including three women, had been arrested.

Video: Inside Syria: Ghost town overrun by troops

The Observatory said troops also arrested more than 100 people in the Damascus suburb of Mouadamiyah. A Western diplomat said he saw several tanks enter the suburb

"The regime thinks it can scare people before Ramadan and make them stay home. But especially the people of Hama have shown themselves to be resilient," he said, referring to the Muslim Holy month, which begins in Syria on Monday.

The U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, visited Hama earlier this month in a gesture of international support for what he described as peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, once one of Assad's main allies, said in May "we do not want to see another Hama massacre," and warned the 45-year-old president that it would be hard to contain the consequences if it were repeated.

The Syrian leadership blames "armed terrorist groups" for most killings during the revolt, saying that more than 500 soldiers and security personnel have been killed.

An activist group, Avaaz, said in a report last week that Syrian security forces had killed 1,634 people in the course of their crackdown, while at least 2,918 had disappeared. A further 26,000 had been arrested, many of whom were beaten and tortured, and 12,617 remained in detention, it said.

Assault in east
In the east of the country, Syrian forces began an assault two days ago in a tribal oil-producing province on the border with Iraq's Sunni heartland.

An activists' group said at least five civilians were killed in the eastern provincial capital of Deir al-Zor on Saturday, the second day of a tank-and helicopter-backed attack on the city.

The group, the Syrian Revolution Coordination Union, said 57 soldiers in Deir al-Zor, including two lieutenants and a captain, had defected to the demonstrators. It said residents had formed local committees and erected makeshift barriers to try to halt the advance of tanks and armored vehicles inside the city.

"More tank columns are heading to Deir al-Zor. By using heavy weapons, security forces are waging war against their own people," the group said in a statement.

The official state news agency said: "Armed groups in Deir al-Zor cut off roads, terrorized citizens and attacked police."

It added: "An exchange of fire occurred. The police forces confronted these armed groups and are still chasing them... The inhabitants of Deir al-Zor have expressed their rejection of these actions which are bad for the homeland."

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43960595/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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