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Syrians kill 80 in Hama attack
Syrian tanks firing shells and machineguns stormed the city of Hama yesterday, killing 80 civilians, rights activists said, in one of the bloodiest days in a popular revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. Hama residents said tanks and snipers fired into unarmed residential areas where people had set up makeshift roadblocks to try and stop their advance. The Syrian state news agency said the military entered Hama to purge armed groups “shooting intensively to terrorise citizens”. A US embassy official in Damascus dismissed this official account as “nonsense.” European Union governments plan to extend sanctions against Assad’s government today.