Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: "Did This Rocket Fall from Outer Space?"

Footage of the rally in Karranah village in Bahrain last night for the arrival of the "Freedom Torch", which the opposition is taking across the kingdom in a month-long procession

---

2131 GMT: An evening protest in Qaboun, Damascus, was reportedly broken up by Assad loyalists. At the last minute, what sounds like an explosion or gunshot can be heard:

2010 GMT: We've had reports of many defections today in several locations. Now, this video has been uploaded, showing men who claim to be Syrian army officers and soldiers defecting in Idlib Province:

1959 GMT: Night protests have started all across Syria. We post two ntoable videos. The first is from the center of Damascus, Khalid bin Walid street.

Hama this evening:

1909 GMT: Adding 3 people reportedly killed in Irbeen, a central and important suburb near Damascus, and 3 people who were killed in Homs (including the bus driver in the video we posted earlier), the LCCS is now reporting that 39 people have been killed in Syria today:

Syria:39 martyrs so far from being shot by army and security forces, including 6 children one of them is an infant, 16 martyrs in Homs, 10 martyrs in Idlib, 7 martyrs in Hama, and 3 martyrs in Daraa, and 3 martyrs in Damascus suburbs

Several important pieces of data need to be teased from these statistics. The deaths in Homs, at this point, are becoming a new a brutal routine. But the deaths across Idlib, Hama, the deaths in Daraa, and the reports of yet more deaths in the suburbs outside Damascus are even more significant.

These numbers mean that there is widespread resistance, and the presence of the opposition in the streets seems to be growing in the last week. There is a real sense that things are escalating quickly.

There are some descrepancied between these reports. Al Jazeera reports:

At least 24 people were killed in Syria on Thursday, including 14 civilians shot in a military crackdown on protesters calling for President Bashar al-Assad to go, and five soldiers killed in ambushes, activists said.

Thousands marched at funerals for 24 civilians killed by pro-Assad forces the day before, said activists, including eight in Damascus in one of the bloodiest attacks on demonstrations in the capital since the start of the seven-month uprising.

Rallies demanding Assad's removal continued across the country.

All day, the estimates of the SOHR have been lower than the numbers released by the LCCS. However, the SOHR is also including tallies of soldiers and defectors killed, while the LCCS reports have characterized the casualties as civilians. It will be very hard to reconcile these numbers until the fog of war lifts, but this has clearly been another significant day in Syria.

1840 GMT: The death toll in Syria is still rising. LCCS is reporting that 33 civilians have been killed.

Syria:33 martyrs so far from being shot by army and security forces, including 6 children one of them is an infant, 15 martyrs in Homs, 10 martyrs in Idlib, 6 martyrs in Hama, and 2 martyrs in Daraa

1834 GMT: This is apparently a leaked video, taken by Syrian military. The location and date of the video is unknown, but the soldiers appear to be firing across an open lot into a group of buildings on the other side. They do not appear to be taking any fire.:

1734 GMT: Another video reportedly taken today in Harasta, Damascus. Gunfire is almost constant. Several leading activists, including the Syrian Observatroy for Human Rights, are now reporting that clashes between defecting soldiers and the Syrian military have taken place in the area:

1651 GMT: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has been able to confirm at least 21 deaths in Syria today:

In some of the attacks, security forces opened fire as they conducted raids in search of dissidents in areas including the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, Deir Ezour, Hama and Homs, which has emerged as the epicenter of the uprising.

An 8-year-old girl was among the victims in Homs, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

There also were reports of fighting between army defectors and soldiers near the eastern city of Deir el-Zour and near Maaret al-Numan, a town on the highway linking Damascus and the major city of Aleppo.

The death toll Thursday was reported by the observatory and the Local Co-ordinating Committees, an activist coalition.

The Guardian adds that Syrian State TV, SANA, is reporting that two children were killed in Idlib province by explosives planted by a "terrorist armed group."

1627 GMT: The death toll is rising rapidly in Syria. The LCCS reports that 27 have been killed today, including 6 children, one of which was an infant. The deaths are being reported from the following locations, "14 martyrs in Homs, 7 martyrs in Idlib, 5 martyrs in Hama, and a martyr in Daraa."

1615 GMT: DRAMATIC video showing the incident in Barzeh, Damascus, that left 7 dead yesterday as Syrian security opened fire on a large protest. Some of the video we posted yesterday, but several new angles, and clips of martyrs, are new to us:

1609 GMT: A Syrian activist point us towards this map, created by other activists, showing the neighborhoods of Homs where protests, and security forces, have been present. At a glance, it very closely matches our sense of what is happening in the city of Homs:

1537 GMT: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights now reports that today's death toll across Syria has reached 15.

The LCCS reports that 3-4 people have died in Hama alone:

Hama: Corpses of three young men were found, they were riding a taxi that was interrupted by white Mercedes security cars without plates, after midnight yesterday and the fourth youth was transfered to the hospital, he is in critical condition from being shot with 13 bullets

1530 GMT: There are major protests reported in Hama and many of its surrounding towns and cities. This video was reportedly taken today in Tibet Imam, Hama:

Kharibnafih, Hama:

1524 GMT: The smoke rises in the background, reportedly the result of Syrian military artillery strikes in Idlib Province, near Shashabo hill:

1517 GMT: We have posted reports of protests and defections in Talbiseh, Homs. Now we have this video which reportedly shows a very large presence of tanks and soldiers in the city:

1452 GMT: Over the last few days we have seen extremely significant protests close to Damascus. More suburbs are reporting larger protests closer and closer to the center of the city, video has started to appear showing smaller protests from the center of the city itself, and the reports of violence and defections this close to the capital is unprecedented.

Activist Alexander Page, who is from Damascus, shares this video, reportedly showing a large protest in Kafer Batna today (MAP):

1445 GMT: According to the video, soldiers defected and joined the protests in Talbiseh, Homs, sparking celebration in the streets:

1440 GMT: This video was taken today in Homs, according to activists, and shows a bus driver who was shot by a Syrian military sniper. No one is capable of helping him because of the gunfire in the streets. We have no way of verifying the claim:

1434 GMT: Meanwhile, in the Damascus suburb of Barzeh, where 7 were killed yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting large protests and a heavy security presence:

There were reports of a significant presence of security forces in the neighbourhood of ‘Barza’, in Damascus, while snipers were positioned on the top of the building. Also, there was a mass demonstration in the local cemetery where the funeral of 6 martyrs was hold. Those martyrs were fallen yesterday while attending the funeral of person who was killed Wednesday’s morning.

Live footage, earlier, from ‘Barza’ in Damascus:

1425 GMT: A massively important video --- According to activists, it shows soldiers trading gunfire with defectors in Harasta, Damascus, right outside the capital.

1421 GMT: The AP is reporting that 2 people have been killed today in Yemen:

Gunmen in civilians clothes opened fire on anti-government protests in two cities in Yemen Thursday, killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring a dozen others, a medical official said.

The attack came as thousands of activists marched in the capital Sanaa and in the central city of Taiz, calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to face trial for his government's crackdown on protesters.

The UN Secretary General's special envoy to Yemen, Jamal bin Omar, arrived in the country Thursday to seek progress on a US-backed proposal to end the crisis. The plan was put forward by Yemen's powerful Gulf Arab neighbours.

1408 GMT: An EA source in Bahrain provides another dramatic video of clashes last night. According to the report, the police prevented the youth of Alkawara village from organizing a protest by attacking it just as it started:

Our source reports that the youth of the village responded by blocking the roads leading out of the village early this morning:

1401 GMT: Activists are claiming that these soldiers are firing at protesters in Inkhel, Daraa. Yesterday, several people were killed in Inkhel, and there are more reports of violence today:

1352 GMT: This video claims to show a protest today in the Al Asali district of Damascus, which we believe is here. According to the description of the video, the protesters march in solidarity with Homs and Barzeh:

1332 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria are reporting that there are new defections and heavy fighting right outside the capital city, in the Damascus suburb of Harasta (MAP). While the details are still unknown (how many defectors? How heavy is the fighting?) this is potentially a massive development.

Damascus Suburbs: Harasta: Soldiers have defected from the army after live ammo was used against a demonstration that set out today. Heavy clashes between the defectors and the army

1326 GMT: Yesterday, the Human Rights Watch requested that Tunisia stop the extradition of former Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi. HRW is concerned that Mahmoudi could face torture if returned to Libya.

“The new authorities in Libya have not yet exerted sufficient control over the many local armed groups to ensure that al-Mahmoudi would remain in safe hands,” Stork said. “Human Rights Watch found serious cases of abuse in some detention facilities that must be addressed, including beatings and the use of electric shock torture.”

1317 GMT: Videos of a general strike are impressive for the opposite reasons why protest videos are impressive. This first reportedly shows a major economic sector in Daraa nearly completely empty:

This is reportedly a market in Mare, Aleppo:

Talbiseh, north of Homs:

1310 GMT: There is a large protest in the capital of Yemen, but it has apparently been attacked. The video below, taken at the "march to reject immunity" in Sana'a, shows a protest where there were large bangs, or gunshots, somewhere towards the back of the crowd that was marching down Zubairy st:

James Miller takes the liveblog.

1240 GMT: Claimed footage of protesters blocking a highway in Aldair, "Roads will be closed until the square (Pearl Roundabout, the centre of demonstrations from February) is reopened":

The blocking of a road in Juffair --- police got to the scene quickly, but the incident still caused a traffic jam:

1230 GMT: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least eight people have died in clashes today.

Five people were reportedly killed in Idlib in the northwest, including four regime soldiers slain by gunmen who stormed a security checkpoint. In Homs, three people were killed.

0910 GMT: Al Jazeera English summarises the incident in Cairo yesterday, when Syrian opposition members who were due to meet the Arab League Secretary-General had to be escorted away after protesters threw eggs at them.

The four-man delegation of the Syrian National Co-ordination Committee (SNCC), made up of opposition figures within Syria, was challenged by demonstrators who accused them of being "traitors" working with the regime.

The tension reflected factional politics within the opposition, notably between the SNCC and the Syrian National Council.

Hassan Abdel Azim, head of the SNCC, was able to meet with Nabil al-Araby, the Arab League Secretary-General.

0800 GMT: US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman, speaking to a Congressional committee, issued this plea, "We urge the opposition, and our regional allies, to continue to reject violence. To do otherwise would, frankly, make the regime's job of brutal repression easier. It will play into the regime's hands, divide the opposition, and undermine international consensus against the regime."

Feltman added, "[Armed resistance] is stoking the fears of Syria's minority communities with blatant propaganda about foreign conspiracies and domestic terrorism while cynically claiming that the regime is their only protection from the cycle of violence and sectarianism."

Feltman's statement came as Syrian Foreign Minister Walim Moallem claimed that a State Department comment last week, warning the opposition not to take up a regime offer of amnesty, "encourage[d] armed groups to continue their criminal activities against the people and State".

Moallem said Syria "considers that through the State Department’s statement, the United States of America has directly involved itself in the violent unrest". The remark "reflect[ed] an intention, indeed an active attempt, to thwart the League of Arab States in its endeavour to bring an end to the crisis in Syria and restore peace and stability to the population".

0610 GMT: A protest in Mehaza in Bahrain last night:

0600 GMT: An interesting "historical" note from the British magazine Private Eye. It notes that on 17 March --- a day after a Saudi-led military intervention and the Bahraini security forces' suppression of the main protests with the levelling of the campa at Pearl Roundabout --- The Times of London carried a 16-page advertising supplement, "Art and the Gulf", with a fawning profile of Bahrain's Minister of Culture, a profile of an artist married to the Prime Minister's daughter, and a tribute from the head of the Royal Academy.

The cost of the supplement, arranged in February just as protests were beginning? £60,000.

0550 GMT: Bahrain's Ministry of Interior, via Twitter, offers some enlightening information. An EA correspondent writes:

"The police handled' according to law, 1235 illegal marches, in addition to 7238 incidents for rioting, arson and vandalism," the MoI tweets. So that is 8473 "events" over five months, or 150 days, of martial law. (There was a break of 3 1/2 months earlier this year, following the start of the protests in February, in the martial conditions.)

8743 divided by 150 --- that is an average of 56 protests each day. The total number of villages with demonstration is around 41. So, according to the MoI's numbers, if we consider that all villages are protesting (which is not the case, of course), at least 15 have had more than one incident during every day of martial law since mid-February.

0540 GMT: For much of Wednesday, I was struck by the relative quiet from Syria. We were getting few reports of protest and conflict, breaking the pattern of many weeks.

That changed quickly and dramatically in mid-afternoon. Video testified to mass rallies and to deaths at the hands of security forces throughout the country. There was yet more evidence of the military's assault on the Bab Amro section of Homs --- a clip shows ordnance with a witness commenting, "Did this rocket fall from outer space?" --- and more reports of slain civilians. By early evening, the toll was 25 across the country.

Significantly, seven of those deaths came in the Damascus suburb of Barzeh, when a large march was attacked by security forces. That is the largest deadly incident near the capital for months. Combined with the video of marches inside Damascus, could this point to a significant spread, with the escalating conflicts moving from flashpoints like Homs to the centre of the Assad regime's power?

A large protest in Inkhel in Daraa Province in the south last night: