‘Syrians are being slaughtered like sheep’

GUNMEN in plainclothes are randomly shooting people in the streets of the besieged Syrian city of Hama and families are burying their loved ones in gardens at home for fear of being killed themselves if they venture out to cemeteries, residents said.

Military forces on Sunday launched an offensive against anti-government dissent in Hama and at least 100 people have been killed since, according to human rights groups. Phones, Internet and electricity have been cut or severely hampered for days. One resident told how people are being forced to ration food and share bread to get by during the holy month of Ramadan, when many Muslims fast from dawn to dusk then celebrate with large, festive meals after sundown.

“People are being slaughtered like sheep while walking in the street,” said the resident, who spoke by phone on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “I saw with my own eyes one young boy on a motorcycle, who was carrying vegetables, being run over by a tank.”