Middle East News
Syria tightens security on massacre anniversary, says opposition
Feb 2, 2012, 8:35 GMT
Cairo - The Syrian government deployed security and military forces in flashpoint areas across the country on Thursday, the 30th anniversary of a massacre in the central province of Hama, opposition activists said.
Government forces made mass arrests and reinforced military presence in several places, mainly in Hama, the activists added. Hama, a province of 800,000 people, is known to be a bastion of the country's Sunni Muslim majority.
The province was the scene of a massacre that began on February 2, 1982, when government forces crushed an Islamist uprising challenging the rule of then-president Hafez al-Assad, father of the current President Bashar al-Assad.
At least 10,000 were killed in the 27-day massacre, according to opposition and human rights advocates.
