200 reported killed in Syrian attack

(Vatican Radio) Nearly 200 people were reportedly killed Thursday during an attack by Syrian government forces against a village in the province of Hama. Reports say that the village of Taramseh was bombarded by helicopter gunships and tanks and then stormed by militiamen who reportedly killed people one by one. The majority of those killed were civilians, according to reports. If confirmed, the attack would be the worst single incident of violence in 16 months of conflict between Bashar al-Assad’s regime and rebel forces seeking to overthrow him.

Thursday’s reported attack comes less than a month after seventy-eight people were murdered in the village of Mazraat al-Qubeir by Assad’s fighters. In late May 108 men, women and children were massacred in the town of Houla.

An estimated 16,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime began in March of last year.

Listen to Ann Schneible’s report: