Protest marches across Syria on first Ramadan Friday

AMMAN (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people marched across Syria on the first Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, stepping up defiance of President Bashar al-Assad's bloody crackdown on unrest as his tanks again shelled Hama and massed outside another restive city.

Hama residents feared higher casualty figures than the 135 estimated killed since the military assault began on Sunday on the city of 700,000 people in central Syria.