Dozens dead in Syrian protest crackdown

Dozens dead in Syrian protest crackdown

by Paul Byrne, Daily Mirror 1/08/2011

A SAVAGE crackdown on anti-government protesters left at least 140 dead and dozens injured in cities across Syria yesterday.

Launching dawn raids which America dubbed "full-on warfare" on its people, President Bashar Assad's forces struck against rebels demanding he step down.

In Hama, 130 miles north of the capital Damascus, bodies were left scattered in the streets after tanks rolled into town while defiant residents threw firebombs.

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Plumes of smoke blackened the sky and the sounds of gunfire and tank shells were heard across the city which has been under effective siege for over a month

"It's a massacre, they want to break Hama before the month of Ramadan," a witness said, adding that hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties.

The holy month of Ramadan starts today in Syria and unrest is expected to grow during this period.

Other raids were reported in Damascus, as well as al-Hirak and Deir al-Zour, where at least seven people died in machine gun fire.

And in the southern city of Deraa, which has lived under a heavy security presence for three months, three demonstrators were shot dead outside a mosque.

Since March around 1,600 civilians have been killed and US President Barack Obama said he was "appalled" by the violence, insisting the Syrian president is "completely incapable and unwilling" to respond to the grievances of the Syrian people.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the attacks appeared to be a "co-ordinated effort to deter Syrians" from protesting. "President Bashar is mistaken if he believes military force will end the crisis in his country. He should stop this assault on his own people now," he said.

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/08/01/dozens-dead-in-syrian-protest-crackdown-115875-23311736/#ixzz1TkECmZ7w 
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