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Audio: "People are using gardens as graveyards" Besieged city of #Hamacomes under fresh shelling todayhttp://bit.ly/qIC806 #Syria
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Syria, Libya and Middle East unrest - Monday 1 August
• International outrage at massacre in Syrian city of Hama
• Reports of more attacks by Syrian army in Hama today
• Fears of further divisions in Libya opposition after assassination
• Reports of more attacks by Syrian army in Hama today
• Fears of further divisions in Libya opposition after assassination
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An unverified video still shows a man being rushed to hospital; 200 casualties were reported. Photograph: Reuters
Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, has also condemned the Syrian government's attack on protesters. Christoph Steegmans, a spokesman for the Berlin government, said:
Chancellor Merkel condemns in the strongest of terms the Syrian government's action against its own civilian population. [She] explicitly urges President Assad to halt the violence against his own people immediately.
Russia, one of the veto-wielding members of the UN security council, has called for an end to the violence in Syria. "Moscow is seriously concerned by information about numerous casualties," the foreign ministry said, according to Reuters. "The use of force against civilians and representatives of state structures is unacceptable and must cease."
The New York Times has posted a number of YouTube videosfrom yesterday's attack on Hama, although they have not been independently verified. As Nour Ali (a pseudonym) reports in the Guardian today, security forces withdrew from Hama on 3 June after shooting more than 70 residents dead after Friday prayers – this gave the city, the New York Times writes, a sense of independence that proved to be all too fleeting". The NYT also has some details of attacks yesterday in Deir Ezzor and Daraa.
I've added those locations to my Google map.
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Nour Ali sends this from Damascus.
Damascus is quiet on the first day of Ramadan as cafes are empty and people lay low in the heat. But some of those who are out are talking about Hama, among discussions of this year's soap operas and the high temperatures. Overheard were mutterings about how children were among the dead yesterday. "Ya haram" (shameful), said one woman. There are reports of increased checkpoints around the city's suburbs and satellite towns. Many on Facebook and Twitter changed their profile pictures to a solid black square to signify their mourning.While most are outraged about yesterday, some are frustrated about the likelihood of more protests. One man, who is sympathetic to the protesters, said the late night protests after tarawih prayers were not sustainable as he and his family needed to sleep.
