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BEIRUT (AP) — After killing nearly 100 people in two days, Syrian
troops tightened their siege on the city of Hama Tuesday by taking
up positions near homes and sending residents fleeing for their
lives.
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The escalated crackdown on anti-government protests has already
brought an international outcry and new European Union sanctions on
members of President Bashar Assad’s regime. On Tuesday, Italy
recalled its ambassador to Damascus, citing “horrible repression”
of citizens.
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President Barack Obama called the latest violence “horrifying” and
the top U.S. military officer said Washington wants to pressure the
Syrian regime. But he added there was no immediate prospect of a
Libya-style military intervention.
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“There’s no indication whatsoever that the Americans, that we would
get involved directly with respect to this,” Joint Chiefs chairman
Adm. Mike Mullen said.
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Despite the intensified attacks on dissenters, the uprising that
began in March appears to be only gaining momentum, even during the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began Monday with daily
dawn-to-dusk fasts.
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The most recent military operations appear aimed at preventing
protests from swelling during Ramadan, when Muslims throng mosques
for special nightly prayers after breaking their fast. The
gatherings could turn into large protests.
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But the opposition appears unbowed so far. Protests erupted Monday
evening across the country, with hundreds turning out in cities
including Homs, Latakia, the Damascus suburbs and the eastern city
of Deir el-Zour.
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There were scattered protests in Hama, but shelling kept most
people inside. Hama has been the target of the recent operation
because it has emerged as an opposition stronghold.
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Activists said around 24 people were killed Monday and 74 on
Sunday, most of them in Hama. There were minor discrepancies in
Monday’s death tolls, ranging from 19 to 25. The differences could
not immediately be reconciled.
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Hama-based activist Omar Hamawi told The Associated Press that
troops advanced about 700 yards (meters) from the western entrance
of the city overnight, taking up positions near homes and buildings
in an area known as Kazo Square. He said the force consisted of
eight tanks and several armored personnel carriers.
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Hamawi, who spoke to the AP by telephone, said troops were also
reinforced on the eastern side of the city around the Hama Central
Prison, an overcrowded jail.
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He said residents there saw smoke billowing from the prison
overnight and heard sporadic gunfire from inside, leading some to
believe the inmates were rioting. He added that it was impossible
to know what was exactly going on in the prison or whether there
were casualties inside the tightly controlled facility.
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The activist also said that parts of Hama were hit Tuesday morning
with heavy machine gun fire after sporadic shelling overnight. He
said a shell hit a compound known as the Palace of Justice in the
city center, causing a huge fire that burned much of the building,
which is home to several courts.
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Hama has a history of defiance to the Assad family 40-year dynasty
in Syria.
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In 1982, Assad’s father, Hafez Assad, ordered the military to quell
a rebellion by Syrian members of the conservative Muslim
Brotherhood movement. The city was sealed off and bombs dropped
from above smashed swaths of the city and killed between 10,000 and
25,000 people, rights groups say.
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About 1,700 civilians have been killed since the largely peaceful
protests against Assad’s regime began, according to tallies by
activists.
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The regime disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for
the unrest, saying gangs and religious extremists – not true
reform-seekers – are behind it. State-run TV aired video footage
Tuesday purportedly filmed in Hama showing men carrying rifles in
the streets of the city – an attempt to bolster their claims that
thugs are driving the violence.
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Syria has banned independent media coverage and has prevented most
foreign journalists from entering the country, making it difficult
to verify events on the ground.
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—
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AP writer Rebecca Santana in Baghdad contributed to this
report.
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