Activists: Syrian forces bombard town, killing 30

Syrian military forces killed at least 30 people on Monday, mostly women and children, when they bombarded a town in the central province of Hama, local activists said. They said 17 children and eight women were among those killed in al-Latmana, northwest of the city of Hama. Activists said 40 people were killed in an army attack on the same town two days earlier. Internet video footage showed rescuers pulling people, covered in fine gray dust, out of what appeared to be the wreckage of a collapsed building. "There are still wounded under the rubble," said a voice in the video. "Look, look atthese corpses ... there are more than 50 corpses under the rubble" Syria has placed tight restrictions on media access, making it hard to verify witness accounts. President Bashar Assad has been trying to crush an uprising against his rule which erupted a year ago. The United Nations says his forces have killed 9,000 people while Syrian authorities, who blame foreign-backed militants for the violence, say 2,500 soldiers and police have been killed. The Syrian government said on Sunday it wanted written guarantees that insurgents would stop fighting before it pulls back its troops under the terms of a UN peace plan which called for all sides in Syria to cease fire by Thursday.