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    July 05, 2011

Activists Say Syrian Tanks Mobilize Outside Hama

   VOA News
   An image taken from footage uploaded on YouTube shows hundreds of
   thousands of Syrian anti-government protesters flooding the streets of
   the central city of Hama on July 1, 2011 Photo: AFP/YOUTUBE
   An image taken from footage uploaded on YouTube shows hundreds of
   thousands of Syrian anti-government protesters flooding the streets of
   the central city of Hama on July 1, 2011

   Syrian opposition activists say government tanks have staged outside
   the central city of Hama, a day after soldiers raided homes and
   arrested at least 20 people there.
   The activists say residents have set fires and placed debris in the
   streets to try to block troops from entering Hama amid the on-going
   crackdown on protests.
   Hama is one of the centers of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's
   11-year autocratic rule, and was the site of an anti-Assad rally on
   Friday that drew hundreds of thousands of protesters. Oppositon
   activists say three people, including a young boy, were killed by
   government troops on the outskirts of the city Monday.
   Rights groups say at least 1,300 civilians have been killed by Syrian
   security forces since mid-March. The Syrian government says terrorists
   and Islamist militants have killed hundreds of security personnel in
   the same period.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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