Assad regime shoots 11 dead in Hama

Syrian security forces shot dead 11 people in Hama yesterday, as residents used rubbish bins to set up makeshift roadblocks and burned tyres in an attempt to keep advancing regime troops at bay.

Tanks remained stationed outside the besieged city, activists said, telling Reuters news agency that forces opened fire in two districts north of the river Orontes.

Residents of Hama incurred the wrath of President Bashar al-Assad last week when up to 250,000 people gathered in the main square to call for his downfall.

The regime appears determined to take back a city which has become a symbol of defiance against Mr Assad. About 1,400 people are believed to have been killed by regime forces since protests erupted in March, with 60 alleged killed in one day alone in Hama last month.