Twenty-Four Killed in Syria as Ramadan Begins

Violence tears through Hama as the holiest month of the Muslim calendar gets underway.

Hopes that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan would settle matters down temporarily in Syria seem to have been dashed, with as many as 24 protesters being killed by government security forces in the city of Hama between Monday and today. With Ramadan underway, many Syrians will be attending mosque every day for prayers. The crackdown in Hama seems to send the message that President Bashar al-Assad's regime won't let the prayer meetings turn into anti-government rallies, as, throughout the four-month uprising, the heaviest protests have typically followed Friday prayers. Residents in Hama, the city that witnessed a government massacre of more than 20,000 civilians in 1982, reported as many as eight tanks, as well as a slew of armoured personnel carriers, rolling through the city. More than 1,700 civilians have already been killed in the uprising.