Syria troops intensify attacks on protest city
Sunday was one of the bloodiest days since the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s authoritarian rule began in mid-March. Six Syrian rights groups said in a joint statement that 74 people were killed throughout the country, 55 of them from Hama and neighbouring villages.
The European Union expanded its sanctions against Syria yesterday, imposing asset freezes and travel bans against five more military and government officials.
The EU decision brings the number of individuals targeted by the EU to 35, including Assad. Four government entities are also on the list.
“Residents are committed to resistance through peaceful means,” Hama-based activist Omar Hamawi told The Associated Press by telephone yesterday. The city’s streets are full of barriers as well as thousands of men “who are ready to defend the city with stones,” he said. “People will not surrender this time. We will not allow a repetition of what happened in 1982.”
Hamawi said residents in villages and towns around Hama have blocked roads and highways leading to the city in order to prevent the military from bringing supplies. He added that dozens of checkpoints were set up and activists have blocked the highway linking the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, with the capital Damascus.
The escalating government crackdown appears aimed at preventing the protests from swelling during Ramadan. Muslims throng mosques during Ramadan for special nighttime prayers after breaking their daily dawn-to-dusk fast. The gatherings could trigger intense protests throughout the predominantly Sunni country and authorities are trying to prevent that.
The worst carnage on Sunday was in Hama, the scene of a 1982 massacre by Assad’s late father and predecessor and a city with a history of defiance against 40-years of Assad family rule. Hospitals there were overwhelmed with casualties, suggesting the death toll could rise sharply.
President Barack Obama on Sunday called the reports “horrifying” and said Assad is “completely incapable and unwilling” to respond to the legitimate grievances of the Syrian people. Yesterday Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, said there is no prospect of international military intervention in Syria, despite an assault by the regime on protest strongholds.
