Syrian activists said that up to 70 people were killed in the city of Hama as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the ongoing troop violence there, saying he “remains deeply troubled” by the attacks. State media refuted the death toll of 70, saying instead that only 16 people died in what it called an “armed terrorist group's” bomb factory. The Arab League also said Thursday that it would ask the U.N. to “act immediately” to protect Syrian civilians.
