Syria's fourth-largest city, Hama, which the army on Thursday admitted it lost control of after an Islamist-led rebel advance, was the scene in the 1980s of a massacre that remains among the darkest chapters in the country's history.Around 210 kilometres (130 miles) north of the capital Damascus, Hama is strategic because of its location between Syria's second city Aleppo -- which rebels took on December 1 -- and Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad's power base.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Hama, Syrian city at centre of fighting, has brutal history
