Syrian forces raided homes in Hama for the secondconsecutive day on Thursday, residents said, hours after the city's attorney general declared on YouTube he had resigned in protest against the government'streatment of anti-regime protesters. Five months of protests have failed to unseat President Bashar Assad, who inherited power from his father and retains the loyalty of the core of his armed forces, which are comprised mostly of members of the Alawite minority. Residents of Hama said security police and state militiamen,raided homes overnight Wednesday and on Tuesday night troops backed by tanks arrested dozens in two other neighborhoods in the city. The United Nations says some 2,200 civilians have been killed since protests began in March. The Syrian government insists its security forces are operating against armed terrorists seeking to overthrow the government.
