Syria Forces Escalate Attacks on Protestors in Latest Hama Crackdown

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Sunday, July 31, 2011

In the latest violence associated with the movement to oust the Bashar al-Assad regime, government tanks and troops ripped through the city of Hama killing and injuring dozens early Sunday morning.

The clashes came on the eve of Ramadan and mainly took place in the western city of Hama, but other areas also faced deadly clashes in recent days as well including Deir Ezzour, Soran, and Daraa.

Hama residents have described government tanks as firing from four directions and “shooting indiscriminately.”

The attack also allegedly saw government forces cut the electricity and water supplies to main neighborhoods, and vandalize private and public property.

According to human rights groups on the ground, at least 88 people were killed in Hama, including two police officers, with more than 100 people injured in the raid.

U.S. officials called the attack "full-on warfare" against the Syrian people.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the attacks stating, "President Bashar is mistaken if he believes that oppression and military force will end the crisis in his country. He should stop this assault on his own people now."

The Syrian government has defended its actions on Sunday via SANA, Syria's Arab News Agency, saying that government forces were fighting gunmen with rocket propelled grenades and machine-guns.

Furthermore, government officials were quoted as legitimizing the attacks by saying that, "Army units are removing the barricades and roadblocks set by the armed groups at the entrance of the city."

Analysts argue that today's attack by the Syrian government was a pre-emptive move to derail the potentiality of an escalation in protests against the government during Ramadan.

Hama, the heart of the protest movement against Assad, is home to around 700,000 residents has been besieged by troops for nearly a month prior to today's attack.

Earlier this month it was reported by Human Rights Watch that government forces raided homes, opened fire, and set up checkpoints in and around the city.

It is said that more than 1,500 civilians and 350 security personnel have been killed since protests swept across Syria last March.

With the Syrian government having banned a majority of foreign media outlets from operating in the country, and the protests having garnered little international support, the outcome of the Syrian protests remains uncertain and difficult to assess.