U.S. Urges Syria to Withdraw Forces from Hama

The United States on Tuesday called on Syria to withdraw its forces from the flashpoint city of Hama at the hub of an anti-regime revolt, where residents have mobilized to keep out troops.

"We urge the government of Syria to immediately halt its intimidation and arrest campaign, to pull its security forces back from Hama and other cities, and to allow Syrians to express their opinions freely so that a genuine transition to democracy can take place," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

She added Washington was "very concerned about the ongoing attacks against peaceful demonstrators in Syria."

"The government of Syria claims that it's interested in dialogue at the same time that it is attacking and massing forces in Hama, where demonstrations have been nothing but peaceful."

Activists told Agence France Presse that security forces killed at least 11 people on Tuesday while more than 35 were wounded in the city.

There was no independent confirmation of the reports from activists as Syrian authorities have curbed foreign media coverage.

One activist insisted that Hama, where as many as 500,000 people took to the streets for a demonstration on Friday against President Bashar Assad's regime, was putting up a "100 percent peaceful" resistance.

Residents are said to have been sleeping on the streets and putting up sand barriers and tires to try to block an assault by Syrian forces.

"A week ago, Hama was the positive example of a city in Syria where peaceful demonstrations were allowed, where people were meeting each other and organizing and talking," Nuland said.

"And today, we see Hama surrounded by Syrian security forces. So we're going in the wrong direction."

Assad, faced with a revolt since mid-March, sacked the governor of Hama province on Saturday, a day after the massive rally during which security forces kept out of sight.

Since security forces gunned down 48 protesters in the city on June 3, Hama has escaped the clutches of the regime, according to activists. The next day, more than 100,000 mourners were reported to have taken part in their funerals.

Hama was the scene of a 1982 blood bath in which an estimated 20,000 people were killed when the army crushed an Islamist revolt against the rule of the president's predecessor and late father, Hafez Assad.

President Assad has decreed two "general" amnesties since the start of the unrest in Syria almost four months ago and also lifted a state of emergency that had been in force for five decades.

Rights groups say that more than 1,300 civilians have been killed and 10,000 people arrested by security forces since mid-March.