Syria: Tanks Enter Hama on Eve of Ramadan

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

On the eve of Ramadan, Syrian troops have entered the city of Hama, reportedly killing as many as 45 people by 11:00 am on Sunday, July 31. The assault has particular resonance for Syrians, as the city of Hama was the site of one of the most horrific massacres in modern history.

Most tweets at this early hour are links to news, though many from within Syria, and abroad have condemned the killings, with some expressing anger at a perceived lack of international outrage. Still others, such as deekelgen963, expressed doubt about the reporting from Hama.

Of the view original reports coming across the Twitter lines, one stands out. Debkafile reports: “Water, power, phone lines cut for Hama's 400,000 inhabitants”.

Meanwhile, from inside Hama, a few videos have emerged.

One shaky video from the Shams News Network shows tanks entering the city:

Another video shows black smoke rising up from within the city:

BBC journalist Shaimaa Khalil pointed to live streaming video coming from Hama, the archive of which is available here.

Without the presence of professional journalists in Hama, reporting is reliant on activists and citizen journalists, for whom capturing images and videos comes with considerable risk. As a result, news is often slow to trickle out, but some Syrian activists, such as @wissamtarif and @malathaumran are continuously tweeting news.

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

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