Syrian attorney general resigns: Activists

Judge Adnan Bakkour resigned because security forces killed 72 prisoners in the city of Hama on July 31.

Beirut: The attorney general of a restive Syrian city has appeared on a video declaring his resignation over the regime`s deadly assault on protesters.

In the video released late Wednesday, Judge Adnan Bakkour says he is resigning because security forces killed 72 prisoners in the city of Hama on July 31 and because another 420 were killed during a siege on the city in August.

But Syria`s state-run news agency says "terrorists" kidnapped Bakkour on Monday and forced him to make the video.

The regime has banned foreign journalists and restricted local coverage, making it difficult to independently verify events on the ground.

Some 2,200 people have been killed in the crackdown on the five-month-old protest movement.

Bureau Report