Syria: dozens dead as Assad troops launch major tank offensive

On one of the bloodiest days of retribution since protests against the Syrian leader erupted in March, up to 95 people were killed in Hama alone. Dozens more were feared dead in other restive cities.

For nearly a month the security forces had laid siege to Hama, sealing off access roads into the central Syrian city in an attempt to isolate its fractious inhabitants from the rest of the country.

But with perhaps half of the city's 700,000-strong population regularly taking to the streets to demand the regime's downfall, the security forces chose to resort once more to bloodshed.

Just before dawn, tanks and armoured vehicles crossed the Orontes River and advanced into the centre of the city, leaving crushed barricades and corpses in their wake.

As day broke, the city's skyline seemed almost entirely shrouded with smoke.