Bashar al-Assad’s regime sent tanks into the Syrian rebel cities of Hama and Deir Ezzor on Sunday, killing more than 100 people ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, activists said.
US President Barack Obama last night criticised Mr Assad’s use of “torture, corruption and terror”, saying he was appalled by the Syrian government’s brutality against its own people. He said the US would up its pressure on the regime.
Sunday’s attacks, which activists have dubbed “the Ramadan massacre”, are among the bloodiest yet in the four-and-a-half month uprising and are thought to be a pre-emptive strike at a pro-democracy protest movement expected to produce demonstrations every day during Ramadan, which starts today.