Ramadan begins with violence in Syrian city
President Obama today condemned Syria's crackdown on protesters. He demanded that dictator Bashar Assad "stop the slaughter." The president met with U.S. ambassador Robert Ford, who recently visited the city of Hama, a major battleground.
As CBS News correspondent David Martin tells us, protesters armed with sticks and stones came up against army tanks for a second day there.
For the citizens of Hama, Syria's fourth largest city, the holy month of Ramadan began with violence.
With outside journalists barred, it's hard to get an independent picture of what's happening. But it appears the government of Bashar Assad has significantly escalated its crackdown on protesters.
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Syrian forces pound Hama for 2nd day
Speaking from a cell phone this evening, local activist Omar al-Habbal described the latest shelling.
"They are hitting mosques and just about any target at random," he said, "just shooting at houses from far distance."
The protesters' only strength lies in their numbers as judged by the crowds, which turned out for funerals of those killed on Sunday.
The evening prayers of Ramadan provide a natural gathering for even larger crowds. Just before this evening's prayers, the shelling began again in earnest and lasted about an hour.
Habbal: "Seven to eight bombs per minute."
Martin: "Seven to eight bombs per minute?"
Habbal: "Yeah, yeah..."
This morning, the firing seemed directed at barricades that protesters had erected in the streets. Tonight, residential areas were shelled.
