Over 100 citizens have been killed by Syrian security forces in the city of Hama, according to reports from residents.
Tanks stormed the city at dawn the day before Ramadan, the AFP reported on Sunday. Reports indicate least 130 are dead.
Foreign secretary William Hague has condemned the violence, saying: “I am appalled by the reports that the Syrian security forces have stormed Hama with tanks and other heavy weapons this morning killing dozens of people.
"Such action against civilians who have been protesting peacefully in large numbers in the city for a number of weeks has no justification.
"The attack appears to be part of a coordinated effort across a number of towns in Syria to deter the Syrian people from protesting in advance of Ramadan.
"The attacks are all the more shocking on the eve of the Muslim holy month. President Bashar is mistaken if he believes that oppression and military force will end the crisis in his country. He should stop this assault on his own people now.”
Over 1,500 civillians have been killed in Syria since protests against the government and its President Bashar al-Assad began in March,
See photos from the city below.
The attacks echo a massacre in the city in 1982, in response to an uprising against President al-Assad’s father, where tens of thousands died.