The Syrian military tightened its suffocating siege on the city of Hama on Saturday, and activists said security forces killed at least 24 civilians the day before in a nationwide crackdown on anti-government protesters.
A Hama resident said tanks shelled the city on Friday night, which resulted in several casualties. He said there were reports that at least one of the hospitals in the city had been targeted. Authorities have imposed a media blackout on Hama and the reports could not be immediately confirmed.
The resident sneaked out of besieged Hama on Friday to try and get supplies, and spoke to AP by phone on Saturday from the city’s outskirts.
“I am trying to get back but it’s impossible, they’ve tightened the siege even more, not even an ant can go in or out today,” he said.
Syria’s government has broadcast images of buildings and empty rubble-strewn streets in Hama, the epicentre of the protests, claiming the military was putting an end to an armed rebellion launched by “terrorists.”
The brutal crackdown has sparked international outrage, and a group of Gulf Arab countries on Saturday broke their silence on the bloodshed, calling for an immediate end to the violence and for implementation of “serious” reforms in Syria.
In a statement posted on its website, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council expressed deep concern and regret for “the escalating violence in Syria and use of excess force.”
“GCC countries ... call for an immediate end to the violence and any armed appearances, as well as an end to the bloodshed,” it said.
Under the relentless clampdown, Hama residents on Friday warned that medical supplies were running out and food was rotting after six days without electricity. One resident described the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic.” Everything was closed, including bakeries and pharmacies, he said. “There are sick people, people with diabetes who have run out of insulin ... The food has spoiled because there’s no electricity,” he said. “You cannot imagine how tired and terrified people are.”
Across the country, tens of thousands of protesters marched on Friday, chanting their solidarity with Hama and demanding the ouster of President Bashar Assad.
Syria-based rights activist Mustafa Osso said at least 24 people civilians died on Friday, most of them in Damascus suburbs when security forces opened fire during daytime protests and late night demonstrations following evening Ramadan prayers. He said five were killed in Hama and its surrounding countryside.
The toll was confirmed on Saturday by the Local Coordination Committees, a key activist group tracking the Syrian uprising.
The U.S. State Department on Friday urged Americans to leave the country immediately and advised those who remain in the country to restrict their movements. The warning came as congressional calls grew for the Obama administration to impose severe new sanctions on President Bashar Assad’s regime.
