BEIRUT - Syrian tanks rolled toward a tense central city mourningthe deaths of dozens of protesters, reaching the outskirts lateSaturday - hours after a funeral procession through streets linedwith shuttered shops and uniformed security forces, witnesses said.
The government lifted its stranglehold on the Internet, which hasbeen key to motivating people to join the 11-week uprising, but thecrackdown that has left more than 1,200 people dead since March didnot relent: Troops killed at least six protesters in Jisr al-Shughour in the north, according to the Local CoordinationCommittees, which helps organize and document the protests callingfor the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, said "armed criminal groups"attacked several police stations in Jisr al-Shughour, killing twopolicemen.
At least 65 protesters were killed in Hama on Friday, the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights said.
The tanks at the entrance to Hama caused new alarm. The city roseup against Assad's father in 1982, only to be crushed by a three-week bombing campaign that killed thousands.
"Dozens of tanks are reaching the southern outskirts of thecity," said an activist who lives in a nearby town. "They willprobably lay a siege, then storm Hama."
The move toward Hama could mean that the army is preparing for amajor operation there.
similar to recent offensives in other areas, including thesouthern city of Daraa, the coastal city of Baniyas and the centraltown of Rastan.
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