Anti-regime hackers hit Syrian government website

Syria's Ministry of Defense website was hacked overnight Sunday.

As late as Monday afternoon local time, the site http://mod.gov.sy/ displayed two stars of the Syrian flag with a caricature of a man in a suit in the guise of Syrian President Bashar Assad with a question mark where the man's head should be.

The caricature is superimposed on the logo of the United Nations. A scrolling section of videos runs at the top of the site depicting Syrian military brutality against civilians, as well as defections by top army officers.

Links to pro-rebellion websites were posted at the bottom of the site.

A written message is also displayed on the hacked site, in Arabic and English:

"To the Syrian people: The world stands with you against the brutal regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Know that time and history are on your side - tyrants use violence because they have nothing else, and the more violent they are, the more fragile they become. We salute your determination to be non-violent in the face of the regime's brutality, and admire your willingness to pursue justice, not mere revenge. All tyrants will fall, and thanks to your bravery Bashar Al-Assad is next.

To the Syrian military: You are responsible for protecting the Syrian people, and anyone who orders you to kill women, children, and the elderly deserves to be tried for treason. No outside enemy could do as much damage to Syria as Bashar Al-Assad has done. Defend your country - rise up against the regime!
The message is signed "Anonymous."

Meanwhile, AP reported on Monday that renewed violence in the eastern Syrian city of Deir el-Zour comes a day after at least 42 people were killed there in an intensifying government crackdown on protesters.

The Local Coordinating Committees, which help organize the protests and track the uprising, said machine fire and artillery blasts resumed early Monday in Deir el-Zour.

More than 300 people have died in the past week, the bloodiest in the five-month uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule. Deir el-Zour, in particular, has come under withering attack. The city is in an oil-rich, but largely impoverished region of Syria known for its well-armed clans and tribes whose ties extend across eastern Syrian and into Iraq, AP reported.