Syrian army 'enters city of Hama'

4 July 2011 Last updated at 18:09 GMT Friday's protest in Hama was one of the largest in three months of demonstrations Syrian troops are raiding houses and arresting people in the central city of Hama, reports say, after massive anti-government protests there on Friday.

Residents had set tyres on fire and blocked roads to delay the movement of troops, who were arriving in busloads and "firing randomly", residents said.

Meanwhile, tanks that were surrounding Hama have moved towards villages in the north, sparking fears of clashes there.

And in Damascus, two protesters were reportedly shot dead on Sunday.

The killings took place in the Hajjar al-Aswad suburb of the capital amid ongoing arrest campaigns there too, human rights activists said.

The latest deaths and detentions come at a time when the government is pushing for a national dialogue next week, says the BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus. The opposition has refused to take part in any dialogue while the violence continues.

Activists say more than 1,350 civilians and 350 security personnel have been killed across Syria since protests began in mid-March.

Governor sacked

On Monday, a resident of Hama told the Reuters news agency that he had seen dozens of Syrian soldiers surround a house in the Mashaa neighbourhood and make arrests.

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Hama - a bastion of dissidence - occupies a significant place in the history of modern Syria. In 1982, then-President Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar, sent in troops to quell an uprising by the Sunni opposition Muslim Brotherhood. Tens of thousands were killed and the town flattened. The operation was led by the president's brother, Rifaat.

In a strange parallel, current President Bashar al-Assad has turned to his own brother, Maher, who commands the army's elite Fourth Division, to deal with the unrest.

Hama - population 700,000 - has seen some of the biggest protests and worst violence in Syria's 2011 uprising. In June, security forces shot dead 60 protesters. And in early July, 150,000 anti-government protesters marched in a central square - in one of the biggest demonstrations since the start of the uprising in mid-March.

"At least 30 buses carrying soldiers and security police entered Hama this morning. They are firing randomly in residential neighbourhoods," the resident, a workshop owner who gave his name as Ahmad, told Reuters by telephone.

Other residents reported hearing gunfire in the western areas of the city.

Security forces had detained more than 20 people in early morning raids, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement obtained by the AP news agency.

Reports cannot be independently verified as the Syrian authorities have banned most foreign media from the country.

On Friday, the city saw some of the biggest demonstrations yet against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. A day later, Mr Assad sacked the local governor, Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz for reportedly failing to suppress the protests.

Hama was the scene of a Muslim Brotherhood uprising against Mr Assad's father, Hafez, in 1982, which the army crushed, killing at least 10,000 people.

Sanctions

Also on Monday, tanks and armoured vehicles that had been surrounding Hama moved north towards the province of Idlib, activists said, sparking concerns that the situation there could get worse.

Many of the deaths during the recent uprising are said to have happened in the north-western province, where there has been a heavy army crackdown on protests.

At least 10,000 people fled to Turkey, following attacks in the town of Jisr al-Shughour. Some 9,300 still remain camped there in tents, Turkish officials say.

Activists say that the army is now intensifying its operations in the nearby towns of Kfar Nubbul and Kfar Roumah, where at least six people were wounded when tanks opened fire on Monday morning.

The uprising shows no sign of letting up despite a deadly government crackdown that has brought international condemnation and sanctions.

President Assad is facing the most serious challenge to his family's four-decade ruling dynasty in Syria.

His administration has blamed a "small faction" of "saboteurs" of exploiting popular grievances.

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Bachmann enters US Republican race

27 June 2011 Last updated at 15:05 GMT Conservative Ms Bachmann announced her candidacy in Iowa

Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann has become the latest Republican to announce a bid for the US presidency in 2012.

Ms Bachmann, a favourite of the economically conservative Tea Party movement, formally declared in the US state of Iowa - her birthplace.

The 55-year-old, who is running high in Republican polls in Iowa, called herself a "bold choice" for president.

Iowa is the first state Republicans vote in for their 2012 candidate.

Its caucuses in early February are the first electoral event in the US presidential nomination process.

Ms Bachmann said she was announcing her candidacy because she was "so profoundly grateful for the blessing I have received, both from God and this great country".

"My name is Michele Bachmann, I stand here in the midst of many friends and many family members to announce formally my candidacy for president of the United States," she said.

'Real solutions'

Speaking in the town of Waterloo, Ms Bachmann said Americans should not stand for overpriced health care, increasing amounts of debt and continued unemployment, all of which are trademarks of the Obama administration.

"More than ever, Washington is the problem, and the real solutions will come from our businesses, our communities, our schools and the most basic and powerful unit of all-our families," she said.

"Americans agree that our country is in peril today and we must act with urgency to save it," Ms Bachmann added.

A poll of 400 party members there shows Ms Bachmann virtually tied with frontrunner Mitt Romney, with 22% of the support.

BBC North America editor Mark Mardell says Republicans feel that next year's presidential election is winnable if only they have a candidate who sparkles - and Michele Bachmann is the latest to catch their eye.

She is already a darling of the Tea Party movement for her plain talking and forthright conviction politics.

While she has made her share of harsh statements - seen by opponents as gaffes - some think she has many of Sarah Palin's qualities with fewer of the drawbacks, our correspondent adds.

Ms Bachmann stresses her record as a tax lawyer and founder of a charter school, as well as repeating frequently that she is a mother of five children and foster mother to 23.

She is an economic conservative who says she will not vote to raise America's debt limit and is urging big tax cuts.

And Ms Bachmann is also a social conservative - a born-again Christian and a fierce opponent of abortion and gay marriage.

That goes down well with Republicans in Iowa, but may not be such a draw to those in the middle ground, our correspondent says.