'Syrian forces kill at least 24 in tank assault on Hama'
"Tanks attacking from four directions. They're firing heavy machine guns randomly and overrunning makeshift road blocks," doctor says.
By REUTERSSyrian army tanks 311 (R)(photo credit: REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim)
AMMAN - Syrian forces killed at least 24 civilians and wounded dozens in a major tank assault on the city of Hama that began at dawn on Sunday to crush pro-democracy demonstrations, residents said.One of the residents, a doctor, said there were 51 people wounded at Badr hospital alone, which was running short of blood for transfusions. He said tanks had surrounded another main hospital, al-Horani.RELATED:Rights group says 20 protesters killed across SyriaSyrian forces kill 4 as protests erupt across countryTanks stormed the city early on Sunday after besieging it for nearly a month in response to some of the biggest demonstrations against Syrian President Bashar Assad's rule."Tanks are attacking from four directions. They are firing their heavy machine guns randomly and overrunning makeshift road blocks erected by the inhabitants," the doctor who did not want to be further identified for fear of arrest, told Reuters by phone, the sound of machine gun fire crackling in the background."Lots of casualties have been taken to Badr hospital. There is a shortage of blood," he added.Another resident said snipers had climbed onto the roofs of the state-owned electricity company and the main prison, and that electricity had been cut in eastern neighborhoods.Hama was the scene of a massacre in 1982 when Assad's father, the late president Hafez 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.The US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, visited the city 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 that "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. Another 26,000 had been arrested, many of whom were beaten and tortured, and 12,617 remained in detention, it said.Click for full Jpost coverage of turmoil in the Middle East
