Syria forces in Hama push as crackdown continues
Baku, August 2 (AZERTAC). Syrian forces are pushing towards the centre of the town of Hama as they continue an offensive in which scores of people have died, BBC reports.
Residents told the BBC many people were fleeing to nearby villages, believing the army would gain full control.
On Monday, security forces cracked down on protests in towns around Syria, often after prayers on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The UN Security Council is set to resume discussions on the crisis.
Russia has until now resisted agreeing to a resolution condemning the violence, but has indicated that it could back a lesser statement.
Syrian Defence Minister Ali Habib was among five members of President Bashar al-Assad`s government targeted by European Union asset freezes and travel bans, the EU said on Tuesday.
And Italy has recalled its ambassador to Syria for consultations, citing the "horrible repression" of citizens.
Rights groups say around 140 people have been killed by the authorities since Sunday, most of them in Hama.
The Syrian government has promised reforms but says citizens and its troops are being attacked by "armed gangs" backed by unspecified foreign powers.
International journalists have been denied access to Syria and it is not possible to verify accounts by witnesses and activists.
`Guns and knives`
Syrian troops took up new positions towards the centre of Hama on Tuesday, residents said.
Their assault on the town resumed following evening prayers on Monday, with targets including a hospital and residential areas.
Hama-based activist Omar Hamawi told the Associated Press news agency that a force consisting of eight tanks and several armoured personnel carriers had taken up positions near homes and buildings in an area known as Kazo Square.
He added that troops were also reinforced on the eastern side of the city around the Hama Central Prison, an overcrowded jail.
Mobile phone footage purporting to show tanks firing in Hama on Monday was posted on social media websites.
But Syrian state television has been showing its own footage, apparently also shot on mobile phones, saying it was taken in Hama on Sunday.
It shows some anti-government protesters carrying shotguns, sticks, and knives, and one man wearing an ammunition vest and carrying an AK-47 rifle.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief, Rami Abdel Rahman, said 24 people were killed across Syria on Monday, including 10 in Rama.
Six died in the Damascus suburb of Erbin and three in the central province of Homs.
Two people - one a 13-year-old boy - were killed in the eastern town of Albu Kamal, two the coastal city of Latakia and one in Maadamiyah near Damascus, the group said.
The current crackdown appears aimed at preventing protests from growing during Ramadan, when Muslims visit mosques for the special nightly prayers after breaking their dawn-to-dusk fast.
The government fears the gatherings could then turn into large protests, observers say.
The crackdown has brought strong international condemnation and the UN Security Council is set to meet again on Tuesday to continue discussions on its response to the crisis.
At a closed-door meeting of the council on Monday, a top UN official told delegates that on top of those killed on Sunday, 3,000 people had gone missing and 12,000 been taken prisoner since the anti-regime protests erupted in mid-March, diplomats said.
Some council members including Russia have so far opposed a draft resolution condemning Damascus, proposing instead a less binding statement.
On Monday Russia`s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin explained that stance, reportedly saying: "We are still under the shadow of events in Libya where we found a resolution adopted by the Security Council dealt with very frivolously, and we cannot but keep that in mind as we contemplate what the Security Council can and cannot do on Syria."
Mr Churkin said he would favour a statement, "which would be seen as a strong signal to end violence but also to come to terms politically and to move things forward peacefully in Syria."
But US Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters that citing the Libyan situation was "an excuse by those who don`t want to confront what`s happening in Syria".
Despite the differences, India`s UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said he detected "a certain convergence of thinking... about the escalating violence".
On Monday, the European Union expanded sanctions against Syria, imposing asset freezes and travel bans against five more military and government officials, bringing the total number of individuals targeted to 35, including President Assad.
As well as Defence Minister Habib, Syria`s head of internal security and the head of intelligence in the town of Hama were also targeted, the EU revealed on Tuesday.
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