The Syrian army began operating in the city of Hama, with troops entering the city from three different directions amid intense gunfire, officials said. There were conflicting reports concerning casualties saying between 5 and 25 were killed and 45 wounded on Sunday Local residents said troops began entering the city at dawn and at least three tanks were deployed near a mosque, as locals set up barricades in the streets. Omar al Habbai a member of the Local Coordination Committees of Syria warned the locals were resisting. "Hama will be very harsh to them ... the whole city has decided to resist with stones, not weapons. The army will either join demonstrators or leave our city," he said. Since the mass protests against President Bashar Assad began in mid- March, some 1,500 civilians and 350 members of the security forces have been killed across the country and more than 12,600 arrested and 3,000 civilians listed as missing.
