Tens of thousands returned to the streets in towns and cities across Syria for the first Friday protests of the Ramadan holy month Aug. 5, especially declaring their support for the residents of Hama, where an estimated 200 have been killed in a military crackdown over the past week. Rights advocates said 14 were killed in Erbin, Homs and Mouadhamiya. State-run Syrian TV broadcast footage from inside Hama for the first time, showing scenes of burned-out buildings, barricaded streets and damaged cars. In YouTube footage [2] purporting to come from protesters in Hama, heavy gunfire can be heard and improvised roadblocks seen in the street, with a tank in the background. A voice says in Arabic: "Hama, 5 August 2011, severe artillery shooting in Hama... tanks incursion of Hama... gangs of Bashar al-Assad are shooting Hama neighborhoods." The date and name of the city are repeated. (The Guardian [3], Reuters [4], Aug. 5)
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