Syrian opposition groups said scores have died in what activists describe as a new "massacre" in the central Hama province but that the exact death toll and circumstances are impossible to confirm, AP reported. The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday that "dozens" were killed overnight in Mazraat al-Qubair on the outskirts of Hama. But the group, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, is still documenting names. The Local Coordination Committees group has a far higher death toll, saying more than 78 people were killed, including many women and children. It said pro-government militiamen known as shabiha first shelled the farming area and then went in and killed the residents there. It said some of the dead were stabbed to death while other bodies have been burned.
