Activists say shelling kills at least 24 in central Syrian city

BEIRUT – Activists say troops have shelled several neighborhoods in a central Syrian city, killing at least 24.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees say the bombardment of Hama lasted until the early hours of Monday.

The LCC said 24 were killed while the Observatory put the death toll at 25, including eight children and five women.

Amateur videos showed a makeshift hospital were several people lay on the floor either dead or wounded.

The city witnessed clashes Sunday between troops and rebels.

In 1982, President Bashar Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez, ordered the military to quell a rebellion by the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Hama in an assault that killed between 10,000 and 25,000 people.