Troops 'Move Back Into' Troubled Syrian City

Syrian troops have reportedly launched a renewed assault on the rebellious city of Hama after a weekend of major anti-government protests.

According to residents, soldiers have stormed houses and made arrests as demonstrators again took to the streets.

One resident, who gave his name as Ahmad, said: "At least 30 buses carrying soldiers and security police entered Hama.

"They are firing randomly in residential neighbourhoods."

It had been reported that government tanks deployed at the entrances to the city had pulled back.

The vehicles were sent after Hama saw one of the largest protests against President Bashar al Assad's leadership since the country's uprising began.

At least 150,000 demonstrators had assembled in a main square in the city on Friday, according to witnesses, while tens of thousands reportedly gathered for a night rally on Sunday, despite electricity cuts designed to hamper protests.

"The regime is using scare tactics, but the people of Hama are not bowing," one of the residents said.

Rami Abdel-Rahman, president of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said any military assault on the city could "spur Syrians to take to the streets across the country en mass and result in total international isolation of the regime".

On Saturday, Mr Assad sacked the governor of Hama for reportedly being "too soft" and allowing the protests to grow.

It is the third governor Mr Assad has sacked in recent months, having taken similar action in Homs and Deraa - a clear sign that he is determined to reassert his authority, eroded by his failure to resolve the crisis.

Meanwhile, a video apparently showing security forces firing at protesters in the city of Homs has emerged on YouTube.

And for the first time since the protests began, Sky News has been given footage of the president out meeting his supporters in Damascus.

He was accompanied by his England-educated wife, Asma, confounding rumours that she had left the country and gone back to west London where she was brought up.

Rallies in Damascus, Aleppo and Sweida suggest the president still has plenty of support among his people, particularly among the middle and merchant classes, who are suffering from the economic downturn.

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