Syria rebel city back in the hands of government
Source: Agencies |
August 11, 2011, Thursday
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THE streets of Hama were deserted yesterday and the city in central Syria that has come to symbolize defiance against the government appeared to be under full government control after last week's brutal crackdown on protesters.
To the east, troops seized control of another flashpoint city, Deir el-Zour, after four days of fighting.
The government took journalists to see a rare glimpse of Hama, a city of 800,000 which has seen some of the largest anti-government protests of the five-month-old uprising.
About 50 armored personnel carriers were placed on flatbed trucks heading out of the city after a week-long military assault that the government said was aimed at rooting out "terrorists." The government blames the unrest in Syria on foreign extremists.
In Hama, cement and metal barriers blocked streets and soldiers were removing some of the barricades. At the southern entrance of the city, a two-story police station was burnt.
"We have finished a delicate operation in which we eradicated terrorists' hideouts," an army officer told reporters.
Rights groups say about 1,700 people have been killed across Syrian since March. An aggressive military campaign that began with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan a week ago has left several hundred dead.
With the situation growing bleaker in the country, President Bashar al-Assad came under new international pressure on Tuesday with the Turkish foreign minister urging him to stop killing protesters and US officials saying the Obama administration is preparing to demand his departure.
Assad told Syria's state-run news agency the government will be relentless in its pursuit of "terrorists."
To the east, troops seized control of another flashpoint city, Deir el-Zour, after four days of fighting.
The government took journalists to see a rare glimpse of Hama, a city of 800,000 which has seen some of the largest anti-government protests of the five-month-old uprising.
About 50 armored personnel carriers were placed on flatbed trucks heading out of the city after a week-long military assault that the government said was aimed at rooting out "terrorists." The government blames the unrest in Syria on foreign extremists.
In Hama, cement and metal barriers blocked streets and soldiers were removing some of the barricades. At the southern entrance of the city, a two-story police station was burnt.
"We have finished a delicate operation in which we eradicated terrorists' hideouts," an army officer told reporters.
Rights groups say about 1,700 people have been killed across Syrian since March. An aggressive military campaign that began with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan a week ago has left several hundred dead.
With the situation growing bleaker in the country, President Bashar al-Assad came under new international pressure on Tuesday with the Turkish foreign minister urging him to stop killing protesters and US officials saying the Obama administration is preparing to demand his departure.
Assad told Syria's state-run news agency the government will be relentless in its pursuit of "terrorists."
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