An even more brutal upping of the ante by Assad occurred this morning as tanks (see above) fired directly into civilian areas:
The Local Coordination Committees said in an e-mailed statement that the shelling was concentrated in two neighborhoods that have been the scenes of large protests, Janoub al-Mala’ab and Manakh. The group said that security forces were firing at residents attempting to flee the city, and that one building and several houses had collapsed from heavy shelling.
There was some speculation that the Syrian forces deliberately timed the invasion of Hama to coincide with the trial of Mr. Mubarak, which was being held in Cairo and covered live by most satellite news channels, some of which have given heavy coverage to the Syrian popular uprising that started in mid-March. “It’s obvious that they used the Mubarak trial to distract the public from the attack,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human rights, reached by phone in London. “We might be witnessing another massacre in Hama.”
A horrifying image of a civilian with his head blown off here. More video from the streets:
The Dish 