Activist group: Syrian forces kill 20 in tank assault
Syrian troops killed 20 people in a tank assault on the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Sunday, an activist group said, despite a direct UN appeal to President Bashar al-Assad to stop using military force against civilians.
The assault on Deir al-Zor, capital of a restive oil-producing province, began exactly a week after Assad sent the army to seize control of the city of Hama, a focal point of nearly five months of protest against his autocratic rule. (Reuters)
