2020 GMT: We close this liveblog with video from a very large protest in Qamishli, Syria, where a leading Kurdish activist and opposition spokesman was killed earlier today. Combined with the beating of a former member of parliament, turned activist, the Syrian opposition is more active tonight than they have been, arguably, since Ramadan.
In Bahrain, the opposition is also energized by a new martyr, as police broke up a funeral procession for 16 year old Ahmed Jabber al Qattan, and raids are continuing into the night.
In both locations, these new actions by the regimes are likely to have a far-reaching ripple effect on the opposition movements, and they are already becoming fresh symbols for Arab Spring, both inside Bahrain and Syria, and beyond.
1953 GMT: According to multiple sources, the Bahraini opposition did not go "quietly into that good night" after the funeral for 16 year old Ahmed Jabber al Qattan was broken up by police. Protests, and police raids, have lasted well into the night.
An activist Tweets this video, and according to the voice on the recording, this is the scene in Sitra tonight. Gunfire (or flash grenades, or perhaps tear gas) can be hear, and police vehicles can be seen moving into the vehicle, while protesters honk out a warning to the rhythm of "down down Hamad."
1940 GMT: And now we've finally started to see the first videos from some of the very large protests reported this evening in memory of Meshaal Tammo. This video was taken in Amouda, where thousands reportedly took to the streets when news of the assassination broke:
Thousands also reportedly took to the streets in Jableh, Dier Ez Zor:
And video of a very large evening prayer and protest in Qusour, Homs:
1931 GMT: The air is filled with the sounds of gunfire at dusk, Kafranbel, Idlib, Syria:
1922 GMT: This video is important for two reasons. Taken in Mas'aarat, Idlib, Syria, it shows a massive crowd of protesters marching tonight, which matches many reports made by activists. The second reason it is interesting is for the sign that the protester holds at the start. It reads, in English and (we believe) in Arabic:
Free Syrian People advance their deepest condolensces and sympathy to Mr. Receo Teyyip Erdogan following the death of his mother, asking for God's mercy and vast Paradises.
Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, was supposed to visit but had to cancel his trip because his mother passed away:
1912 GMT: According to AFP, 21 people have been killed today in Syria, including Kurdish activist and opposition spokesman Meshaal Tamo, who was recently appointed to the Syrian National Council.
The Syrian government news agency, SANA, also reported that Tamo was "assassinated," but claimed it was an act done by "by gunmen in a black car who fired at his car," the AFP reports.
1904 GMT: This video, reportedly taken earlier today, shows the breaking up of the funeral procession for 16 year old Ahmed Jabber Al Qattan, who was killed yesterday by Bahraini security. Earlier, we reported that the Bahraini government admitted that they broke up the funeral because of "vandals" in the crowd:
1922 GMT: This video is important for two reasons. Taken in Mas'aarat, Idlib, Syria, it shows a massive crowd of protesters marching tonight, which matches many reports made by activists. The second reason it is interesting is for the sign that the protester holds at the start. It reads, in English and (we believe) in Arabic:
Free Syrian People advance their deepest condolensces and sympathy to Mr. Receo Teyyip Erdogan following the death of his mother, asking for God's mercy and vast Paradises.
Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, was supposed to visit but had to cancel his trip because his mother passed away:
1912 GMT: According to AFP, 21 people have been killed today in Syria, including Kurdish activist and opposition spokesman Meshaal Tamo, who was recently appointed to the Syrian National Council.
The Syrian government news agency, SANA, also reported that Tamo was "assassinated," but claimed it was an act done by "by gunmen in a black car who fired at his car," the AFP reports.
1904 GMT: This video, reportedly taken earlier today, shows the breaking up of the funeral procession for 16 year old Ahmed Jabber Al Qattan, who was killed yesterday by Bahraini security. Earlier, we reported that the Bahraini government admitted that they broke up the funeral because of "vandals" in the crowd:
1727 GMT: Many activists are reporting that there are massive demonstrations in Sarmeen (Idlib province), Zabadani (Damascus Suburb), and a very large demonstration has reportedly been building in Amouda, all is solidarity with Mashal Temmo, a Kurdish leader who was killed today, and Ryad Saif, a former member of parliament who was beaten in Midan, Damascus. We will see if pictures and videos get uploaded soon.
1704 GMT: According to activists,
"Mash'al Temmo was also a newly nominated member of the executive body of the Syrian National Council."
The have posted a video (Arabic) of a speech he recently gave calling for freedom and democracy.
1659 GMT: This video was reportedly taken today in Ma'Aarat, Idlib, Syria. A tank can be seen rolling down the street towards protesters, then gunshots ring out and the protesters scatter:
1643 GMT: Activists are reporting that protests are surging in many areas of the country as news of two major events spreads: The death of Kurdish leader Mashaal Tammo, and the beating of activist and former MP Ryad Saif, and old man who reportedly has cancer (see update at 1515 GMT). Though we have no way of verifying this report right now, Shaam News, via Now Lebannon, has this report:
"More than 100,000 people in Jerjenaz and 40,000 people in Jabal az-Zawiya protested against the regime. (S.N.N.)
1629 GMT: This video was reportedly taken today in Hama, Syria. The sign reads "No Negotiations with Killers:"
1623 GMT: Smoke rises from Sirte as anti-Qaddafi fighters claim that most civilians have fled. Meanwhile, it appears that snipers have frustrated efforts of the NTC to take the city today. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports:
1604 GMT: According to the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria, and other activists, protests are swelling in the northern Syrian city of Qamishli where a leading Kurdish activist has reportedly been killed by security forces:
Qamishli: More than 3,000 people are protesting in front of the Farman Hospital, where the body of the martyr Mashaal Tammo is located. Protesters, growing in number, are chanting for the toppling of the regime
1600 GMT: Back from lunch and we've missed 1 update from Al Jazeera:
Our reporter at a makeshift clinic near the clashes between funeral marchers and police on Boudaia Highway has seen one man coughing blood with a severe facial injury. He was said to have been hit in the face by a sound grenade, our reporter says.
Youth left a funeral procession for 16-year-old Ahmed Jaber al-Qattan, killed by a bird shot blast on Thursday night, to confront police on the highway.
1528 GMT: The LCCS is reporting that 9 people have been killed today in Syria:
Number of martyrs in Syria today reached to 9 so far, 3 from Hama, 2 from Homs, 2 from Idlib, and one from Hasakah and Swaida
They have also posted a collection of videos from today's protests.
They also reported, moments ago, that a Kurdish leader was killed in Qamishli, and his son injured. It is not known whether he is counted within the 9 dead that they reported earlier:
"Qamishli: Unknown persons fired on and killed Mashaal Tammo, the spokesperson for the Kurdish Future Party while he was in a private residence. His son was injured, as was activist Zahida Rashkilo"
1523 GMT: A large anti-Assad protest in Daraa, Syria:
So far, James is very impressed by the scale and scope of the protests that he has seen today. Protests seem larger than they did a week ago, and the protesters appear to be more enthusiastic and optimistic.
1515 GMT:They may have received this from The Guardian and just forgot to cite (a lot of that going around), but Al Jazeera translates these two videos:
Syrian activists released these videos that allegedly show how former MP and opposition leader Ryad Saif receives a beating in front of the Al-Hassan mosque in the Medan neighborhood of Damascus. The second video shows Saif after he was transferred to hospital for treatment.
The Guardian also shows this video, chanting outside the mosque (but no signs of trouble:
1459 GMT: We have been receiving reports from activists that Bahraini police had disrupted the funeral procession for Ahmed Jabber al Qattan, with violence, tear gas, and even bullets. Now the Guardian is reporting that the government is confirming that they have intervened because of "vandals."
Group of vandals blocked Budaiya RD after funeral of Ahmed Jaber, this led to interference of security forces to bring situation to normal
One activist tweets:
"Its getting dark, the mourners are not leaving. The shooting continues, its like fireworks here #bahrain"
1453 GMT: Despite strong words from the United States Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, after Russia and China vetoed a security council resolution on Syria, Russian PResident Dmitry Medvedev has called on the Syrian President to either reform or step down:
"Russia wants as much as the other countries for Syria to end the bloodshed and demands that the Syrian leadership conduct the necessary reforms," Mr Medvedev said on Russian television.
"If the Syrian leadership is incapable of conducting such reforms, it will have to go, but this decision should be taken not in Nato or certain European countries, it should be taken by the Syrian people and the Syrian leadership."
Mr Medvedev has previously called for Syria to launch reforms but has stopped short of saying Mr Assad should step down if he does not implement them.
Of course, it remains to be seen as to how Russia will use its political and economic interests to influence Bashar al Assad if human rights abuses continue.
1450 GMT: A sequel to the video we posted earlier from Homs. Despite the fact that soldiers appear to be firing down the street, defiant protesters find an interesting way to deliver them a message:
1446 GMT: An impressive rally today in Idlib, Syria. The word on the giant flag - "leave."
1436 GMT: The Guardian has posted this new raw footage from the siege of Sirte, Libya:
Al Jazeera is reporting that thousands of NTC fighters are involved in the assault on Sirte:
They're trying to advance into the city centre from three directions - east, west and south.
"Their target is the Wagadugu conference hall.
"Anti-Gaddafi fighters are at the perimeter of the hall, which is a stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists. But the loyalists holed up inside are putting up a fierce fight. A lot of them are snipers.
"It seems they will rather die than surrender. According to [NTC] fighters, most of the men inside are 'wanted criminals' so it's not in their interest to lay down their arms."
1431 GMT: NPR's Andy Carvin retweets news from a reliable source in Syria. He gives the warning:
So graphic; so much blood. RT @AlexanderPageSY: Video of Mohammad Essam Naeb shot dead by security forces in #Duma bit.ly/qAmNYO
1425 GMT: An activist posts this picture of women at Ahmed's funeral in Bahrain:
1411 GMT: A source sends us another picture of Ahmed Jaber al Qattan's funeral in Bahrain:
;)
Al Jazeera posts this picture, and quotes one of their sources as saying that the protest surrounding the funeral has swelled to perhaps tens of thousands. According to AJE, people are chanting, "This is a martyr for all Bahrain. With our soles, with our blood, we will redeem you Bahrain. Where is the United Nations? Where is the international community? Where is the Arab League? Where are human rights? Where is free press? Where is conscience?"
1407 GMT: According to Al Arabiya, the death toll in rising rapidly in Sirte, Libya:
"Up to 22 NTC fighters are killed, 146 injured, in clashes with Qaddafi forces in Sirte: Al Arabiya correspondent"
1401 GMT: Some American leaders who don't understand the Arab Spring have insinuated that the movement is a threat. On the other hand, these protesters are actually carrying America, British, and French flags, while burning Russian and Chinese flags. They also hold a sign:
"A Veto to support Al-Assad's crimes is exactly what expected from Stalin's ancestors and Tiananmen's Red assassinators - Kafranbel 7-10-2011"
1347 GMT: According to activists, this video shows protesters in the Bab alDreib Neighborhood of Homs chanting "The Syrian Council represents me" as gunfire is sporadically fired down the main street:
1342 GMT: This video was reportedly taken today in Qara, Damascus. IT appears to show a crowd of protesters who come under fire by Syrian security. Before the firing erupts, some civilians flee, and some men (perhaps defected soldiers?) break a cement block to arm themselves with stones:
1332 GMT: There is a major offensive, reportedly the largest one yet, being launched against the Qaddafi stronghold, Sirte, in Libya. The BBC reports:
Sustained tank and mortar fire has been targeting Sirte and there are huge columns of smoke across the city, some 360km (225 miles) east of Tripoli, with many buildings struck and on fire, says our correspondent.
This appears to be the final push for Col Gaddafi's home town, he adds, as the country has been unable to think about the future until Sirte falls.
Now, the Guardian's Peter Beaumont is reporting that the fighters are now going house to house. That is, before heavy gunfire erupts and his signal is cut off...
1324 GMT: The AFP, citing the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as well as other activists, has reported that 7 people have been killed so far in Syria:
"Four people were killed in the neighbourhood of Sabaa" in the central city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Two elderly men were among the dead in Homs, where security forces opened fire at thousands of protesters streaming out of mosques after traditional Friday prayers, wounding at least 25 people, the Britain-based Observatory added.
Three other people died from gunshot wounds in the protest hub of Douma near Damascus, where "snipers" shot at civilians, it said.
Mosques across Syria, as is the case every week, again became springboards on Friday for protests against the regime and also this time in support of the Syrian National Council, formed in Istanbul last weekend to represent the main currents standing against the Assad regime, activists said.
Pro-democracy activists had called for fresh demonstrations under the banner: "The Syrian National Council is our representative, mine, yours and that of all Syrians."
1317 GMT: Yemeni journalist and human rights worker Tawakul Karman has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Karman founded the group, Women Journalists Without Chains in 2005, and has been working to report on human rights and women's rights in Yemen and beyond.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited Ms Karman and the two other winners for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work".
The Nobel jury specifically lauded Ms Karman for playing, "in the most trying circumstances, both before and during the Arab Spring... a leading part in the struggle for women's rights and for democracy and peace in Yemen."
How did Karman celebrate? By protesting in Change Square, Sana'a, where she spoke to Al Jazeera:
1305 GMT: James Miller takes the blog, and he has received pictures from contacts in Bahrain who have attended the funeral for 16-year-old Ahmed Jaber al Qattan.
;)
;)
;)
1020 GMT: Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has told the United Nations Human Rights Council that Damascus is under attack from criminals who have killed 1,100 citizens with arms supplied by neighboring countries.
Mekdad claimed the Assad regime is "the target of terrorist threats" and is being undermined by reports from Western journalists, as Syria "has been subjected to a series of criminal attacks" that have been "accompanied by an unprecedented media campaign of lies and allegations." He said, "There is nothing that we seek to hide or are ashamed of."
Mekdad added, "The culture of human rights is a disease We have to take into consideration that the conduct of some of those developed countries is not honorable in the area of human rights."
1000 GMT: Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman is one of three women who have been awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.
Karman said in her statement of acceptance, "I give the prize to the youth of revolution in Yemen & the Yemeni people."
The other two recipients are Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee. The three women have been recognised "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work".
0940 GMT: Bahraini authorities have sentenced a 16-year-old Iraqi football player to one year in jail and deportation for taking part in anti-regime protests.
Zufiqar Naji is the son of Abdelamir Naji, an Iraqi club football coach who had managed four side in Bahrain.
0930 GMT: Claimed footage of a protest in the Damascus suburb of Douma today:
0920 GMT: Just checking in from the Salzburg Global Seminar to find this statement from Bahrain's Ministry of Interior:
The Assistant Undersecretary of Legal Affairs announced on Friday that an immediate investigation was launched over the death of Bahraini Ahmed Jaber after the report of the medical examiner of the Public Prosecution attributed the death to injury by birdshot and the report of Bahrain International Hospital reasoned the death to severe drop in the blood circulation that led to the heart to stop. He said the legal procedures would be taken, according to the results of the investigation.
That is an effective admission, in contrast to pro-regime claims being put around last night, that the security forces did not react in self-defence to an armed Ahmed Jaber al Qattan and that he was killed by a shotgun blast.
0500 GMT: Preparations for another Friday of protests in Bahrain were overtaken last night by the news of the death of 16-year-old Ahmed Jabbar Al Qattan during a demonstration in Abu Saida.
As the story spread, defenders of the regime threw out claims that Al Qattan had confronted security forces with a shotgun and the Bahraini police used rubber bullets in self-defence. All evidence to this point indicates differently: it was Al Qattan who was peppered with shotgun pellets --- not rubber bullets --- and there was no sign that he had done than participated in one of the nightly protests in Bahrain's villages.
In the cold context of Bahrain, where 43 people have been killed since the anti-regime protests began on 14 February, and in a Syria, where almost 3000 are now officially designated as slain, Al Qattan takes his place as yet another life cut short. But the timing of this killing --- coming as activists are seeking a resurgence of the movement for rights and justice in Bahrain and as the regime is trying to defend its detention of 20 doctors and nurses --- and its apparent cold-blooded manner may be a catalyst for a step up in the challege to the monarchy.
The video of Al Qattan's body and his grieving family --- visually and emotionally graphic --- has now been posted on YouTube.
In Syria, the overnight videos point to another day of mass rallies against the Assad regime --- this clip is from Qusair in Homs: