Syrians began the Muslim Ramadan fast in sombre mood on Monday after troops stormed into Hama, scene of a 1982 massacre, in one of the bloodiest days of a five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
Rights activists said 80 civilians were killed in Sunday's tank-backed assault on the central Syrian city where Assad's father crushed an armed Muslim Brotherhood revolt 29 years ago by razing neighbourhoods and killing many thousands of people.
Security forces had besieged the Sunni Muslim city of 700,000 for nearly a month before Sunday's crackdown on the eve of Ramadan, a holy month when Muslims fast in daylight hours.
Many people flock to mosque prayers at night, occasions which may provide opportunities for protests to multiply across Syria.
The Syrian state news agency said the military entered Hama to purge armed groups that were terrorising citizens, an account dismissed as "nonsense" by a U.S. diplomat in Damascus.
The agency said eight police personnel were killed while "confronting armed terrorist groups" in Hama.
Residents said tanks began pounding neighbourhoods of the city after attacking from several directions in a dawn assault.
Footage posted on social media showed large parts of the city covered in smoke, and panic-stricken groups surrounding the bodies of dead or wounded people in the streets as gunfire rang out. Reuters could not independently verify the content of the videos.
U.S. President Barack Obama said he was appalled by the Syrian government's "horrifying" violence against its people in Hama and promised to work with others to isolate Assad.
"Syria will be a better place when a democratic transition goes forward," Obama said in a statement.
Britain and France condemned the Hama assault. Italy urged a tough statement by the U.N. Security Council, where Russia and China have previously opposed any condemnation of Syria.
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