BEIRUT -- Syrian security forces backed by tanks and snipers killed more than 70 people in a ferocious assault Sunday as the regime raced to crush dissent ahead of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that could become a turning point in the nearly five-month-old uprising.
President Barack Obama called the reports "horrifying" and said Assad is "completely incapable and unwilling" to respond to the legitimate grievances of the Syrian people.
The worst carnage was in Hama, the scene of a 1982 massacre by President Bashar Assad's late father and predecessor and a city with a history of defiance against 40 years of Assad family rule. On Sunday, corpses were scattered in the streets and hospitals were overwhelmed with bloodied casualties, suggesting the death toll could rise sharply, witnesses said.
Ramadan, which begins Monday, will present a critical test for the government, which has unleashed deadly firepower since March but still has not been able to put down the revolt. Daily demonstrations are expected to surge during the holy month, when crowds gather in mosques each evening after the dawn-to-dusk fast.
Though the violence has so far failed to blunt the protests, the Syrian government appears to be hoping it can frighten people from taking to the streets during Ramadan. The protesters are promising to persevere.
Having sealed off the main roads into Hama almost a month ago, army troops in tanks pushed into the city from four sides before daybreak. Residents shouted "God is great!" and threw firebombs, stones and sticks at the tanks, residents said.
By mid-morning, the city looked like a war zone, residents said. The crackle of gunfire and thud of tank shells echoed across the city, and clouds of black smoke drifted over rooftops.
"It looks like Beirut," said Hama resident Saleh Abu Yaman, likening his hometown to the Lebanese capital that still bears the scars of nearly two decades of civil war.
Syria has banned most foreign media and restricted coverage, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground. But interviews with witnesses, protesters and activists painted a grim picture Sunday of indiscriminate shelling and sniper fire as residents fought back by erecting barricades and throwing firebombs at their assailants.
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