Syrian president sends tanks into major city

Bashar al-Assad

AMMAN, (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad has sent  tanks deep into Syria’s third city Homs, escalating a military  campaign to crush a seven-week-old uprising against his  autocratic rule.

Syrians demanding political freedom and an end to corruption  have held weeks of what they say are peaceful demonstrations in  the face of government repression, despite a civilian death toll  that has reached 800, according to the Syrian human rights  organisation Sawasiah.

Yesterday, Homs residents told Reuters they heard machinegun  fire and shelling as troops made their first incursion into