Activist: troops take control of Hama after shelling, army officer, tanks

(10 Aug 2011) SHOTLIST PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THESE PICTURES WERE FILMED UNDER THE STRICT SUPERVISION OF THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT. AP TELEVISION CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT''S VERSION OF EVENTS 1. Pull back from government building 2. Vehicles destroyed during fighting 3. Exterior of damaged police station, tilt down to destroyed vehicles 4. Various interiors of damaged police station 5. Syrian army''s armoured vehicles on transporters leaving Hama 6. Driving shot alongside convoy of Syrian Army armoured vehicles leaving Hama 7. Syrian soldiers on lorry holding poster of President Bashar Assad, chanting 8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Name not given, Syrian Army officer: "The units of the Syrian Arab Army have left the city after completely finishing their mission there. With all honesty, they maintained the safety of the citizens and their souls and brought security and peace to all parts of the city. As you can see now, they are returning to their camps." 9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Name not given, young child, resident of Hama: "We were at our house, when out of nowhere the protesters attacked the police station to take their guns. The police officers refused to give up their guns and they fled, letting the protesters steal everything and set the building on fire." 10. Various of destroyed vehicles 11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Name not given, Syrian Army officer: "After completing their mission of re-establishing security and peace in the city, our forces are going back to their camps to resume their usual daily training." 12. Various of damaged police station 13. Various of Syrian forces leaving Hama STORYLINE Syrian troops were pulling out of the the city of Hama on Wednesday after - as one army officer described it - "completing their mission of re-establishing security and peace in the city." But residents of Hama have told of indiscriminate shelling by the army, snipers aiming at civilians and corpses piling up in the streets in the wake of a week-long military siege of the defiant city. Having blocked nearly all outside witnesses to the violence, President Bashar Assad is stubbornly insisting that terrorists and thugs - not pro-democracy protesters determined to bring him down - are driving the five-month-old uprising. But the government accounts defy reality, offering a surreal spectacle to the thousands of Syrians facing down the military and to outside observers. Most of the 1,700 people killed since March in the crackdown have been unarmed, peaceful protesters, according to activists and human rights groups. The US administration, which announced new sanctions on Wednesday, is preparing for the first time to explicitly call for Assad to step down, officials have told the Associated Press. The moves are a direct response to Assad''s decision to escalate the crackdown by sending tanks into opposition hotbeds. The siege of Hama began last week with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the regime feared large prayer gatherings at mosques nightly after the daytime fast would turn into a new wave of anti-government protests. On Wednesday, Ministry of Information officials escorted journalists on a trip to the city designed to portray the military as Syria''s saviour. It offered a rare glimpse inside the city at the heart of the revolt. An un-named army officer said the siege had been a delicate operation to eradicate terrorist hideouts. "The units of the Syrian Arab Army have left the city after completely finishing their mission there," he said. Middle East. International condemnation has been strong and is growing more forceful. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...