Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Hollow Declarations

See also Bahrain Feature: A New "Martyr"? The Death of Ali Hassan Al Daihi
Middle East Audio: Scott Lucas With Monocle Radio About Al Jazeera
Egypt Letter: Returning to Mubarak's Prisons (Alaa)
Wednesday's Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Catalyst of Alaa's Detention

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1747 GMT: The Bahrain Justice and Development Movement have posted an English-language account of the death of 70-year-old Ali Hassan Aldaihi, allegedly beaten by riot police as he returned home last night.

Aldaihi, the father of the Deputy Secretary General of the leading opposition party Al Wefaq, was found by his son. He was taken to hospital with head injuries but died at 12.30 a.m. after a cardiac arrest.

Aldaihi's home was attacked in September with rubber bullets fired into it.

1637 GMT: So, yesterday the Syrian government enters into an agreement with the Arab League, pledging among other things to withdraw troops and tanks and stop the bloodshed. What happened? A bloody day, with tanks deployed everywhere. Tomorrow, opposition groups are planning to put Assad's pledge to the test, with massive demonstrations scheduled in many locations. Many of our sources are buzzing that we may see protests in Damascus tomorrow. The Guardian's Martin Chulov thinks so too:

Two activists in Damascus said protests were being organised under a premise that nothing had changed. "Tomorrow [Friday] we will see how serious they are," one said. "I think they cannot afford to take the tanks from the streets just yet."

1629 GMT: The Guardian shares this map, created by activists, showing reported military checkpoints in Homs, Syria:

CommunityWalk Map - حواجز حمص المحتلة

1617 GMT: Would anyone like to guess the theme of the majority of the oppositions claims from Syria today?

Tanks reportedly in Talbiseh, Homs, today:

Syrian military reportedly deploying in the Erbeen district of Damascus during evening prayer:

Alharah, Daraa:

Give up? Almost every video and every report is marked "after the agreement with the Arab League."

1610 GMT: Yesterday we posted 2 videos claiming to show the Syrian military attacking a neighborhood in Baba Amr, Homs, at dusk (after the Arab League deal was announced, we believe). This morning, The Guardian posted this video, which they say was taken today. Either they are wrong, or the same neighborhood has been under heavy attack for 24 hours:

1602 GMT: Al Jazeera reports that 18 people have been killed in Homs today. The Guardian has a bolder claim, that as many as 72 been killed in 48 hours.

1556 GMT: Activists, including the opposition Al Wefaq party, are reporting that Ali Hassan Aldaihi, a 70-year-old man, was beaten by riot police last night and died today in the Salmaniya Medical Center in Manama.

1546 GMT: This video reportedly shows the body of Khalid Khalifa Al-Ahmad Al-Khalidi, reportedly killed in Deir Bielbe, Homs, by Assad loyalists. His hands are bound.

For months, many of the videos of death and destruction that we've seen from Syria featured protesters fired on by the military or Shabiha. More recently, we've seen evidence of the Syrian military bombarding cities like Homs (and, early on in the summer, Hama). But in recent days we've seen more and more evidence of sectarian violence, away from the cameras and the protests.

1535 GMT: Activists post this video, reportedly showing army (or Shabiha, as some of the armed men seem to have no uniform) in Hama today. It did rain earlier, and the newspaper at the start of the clip is from today (we believe):

1527 GMT: The situation in Homs continues to escalate, according to the LCCS. These reports started 40 minutes ago:

Homs: Today, security forces stole 15 corpses from Wadee AlSayeh, 27 from Alfardaw cemetery near Firouzeh and 11 corpses from Alahali hospital in Homs, in addition to 2 corpses from Dwar Aljawiya and Khalidyeh. There is news of the security forces intention to mutilate the bodies and display the images to the media claiming the images are from a massive massacre

Heavy gunfire in Ashira district in conjunction with electricity cut off

Martyrdom of Ibrahim Altash by bullet of security forces in Bayada district

They also post this video, reportedly showing a military checkpoint in Homs:

An Activist sums up the situation:

"seems the regime is attempting one final bloody push to crush Homs before being forced out. neighborhoods shelled buildings flattened"

1513 GMT: BREAKING NEWS: According to a source in Bahrain, a protester was killed today by security forces. More details when we have them

1439 GMT: This video reportedly shows an activist, driving down a road lined with tanks, in Kastoun, Hama, today:

1432 GMT: This video reportedly shows a tank, hidden in sandbangs, stations on Cairo street in Khalidiya, Homs, Syria. The camera man says the location, and the date, and the weather report says that it did rain earlier in Homs.

Yesterday Assad agreed with the Arab League to withdraw his tanks, but according to activists, they appear as dug in as ever.

1419 GMT: According to the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria, Assad's military has not withdrawn its tanks or soldiers from Homs, and at least 16 people have been killed there alone today:

Homs: Martyrdom of the child Mohammed LA Meslmani by two bullets, Tawfiq Al Masri was also martyred in Baba Sbaa which makes Homs Martyrs today 16

1308 GMT: Activists have posted an extremely disturbing and graphic video, clearly showing a group of mutilated bodies, reportedly anti-Assad protesters who have been killed with axes in Homs, Syria. There are few details in the video that would help verify the report, but I'm sure we'll hear more about this incident.

The death toll in Homs has risen to 9, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. As of right now, however, we don't know whether the axe victims are counted in that total.

1210 GMT: Claimed video of Syrian tanks firing in the Bab Amr section of Homs, where at least four people were reportedly killed this morning:

1110 GMT: Activists claim Syrian tanks, with mounted machine-guns, have fired on Homs, killing at least four people.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the Baba Amr district came under heavy fire Thursday.

1025 GMT: Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, has said the ICC is still negotiating surrender terms with Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of the former Libyan leader.

the court's prosecutor said.

Moreno-Ocampo said the ICC has "received questions from individuals linked to Seif al-Islam about the legal conditions attaching to his potential surrender". However, he admitted it had been several days since he had been in contact with Qaddafi's group.

1015 GMT: Bassem Sabry publishes an overview of the "Constitutional Principles Document" being pushed by Egypt's military rulers, commenting:

A few interesting notes on the army. Only SCAF [the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces] will be allowed to analyse and debate any matters pertaining the army or the details of the military budget, and the military budget as a whole would be submitted as one single figure to the parliament for the annual State budget debate & voting. Also, war can only be declared by the President after the approval of both Parliament & SCAF. Oddly, this ignores the fact that the Parliament may choose a Parliamentary System without a strong President to begin with.

Issandr El Amrani goes farther, "We are heading towards a real political, constitutional and legal disaster":

What's significant here to me is that this wording would suggest that SCAF would continue to exist even after a president is elected. It's hugely telling of how the military seems to conceive the transfer of power back to civilian rule: they're not going to disband themselves, but are turning themselves into a fourth power alongside, not beneath, the executive branch.

0935 GMT: The International Committee of the Red Cross is pressing Syrian authorities for wider access to thousands of detainees.

Jakob Kellenberger, president of ICRC, said the agency would assess the situation after an upcoming visit to a detention center in Aleppo.

The Syrian regime allowed ICRC officials to visit Damascus central prison, which has 6,000 inmates, in September, but that has been the only facility to which the Red Cross has been given access. Activists say 30,000 people have been arrested since the uprising began in March.

0930 GMT: Reuters offers an overview as campaigning for Parliamentary elections starts in Egypt, including these notable paragraphs:

Officials from both Islamist and liberal parties said they walked out of a meeting with the government on Tuesday when Deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Silmi circulated a document proposing principles for the constitution that would allow the army to defy an elected government.

The Muslim Brotherhood, one of Egypt's most influential political groups, demanded Silmi step down and the government resign if it tries to set specific rules for the constitution.

Meeting on Wednesday, a group of presidential candidates demanded that the ruling generals state their true intentions and announce a timetable for handing power to civilians.

0545 GMT: The "diplomatic" headline from Syria on Wednesday was that the Assad regime had accepted elements of the Arab League's "road map" for a resolution of the internal conflict,  including the removal of tanks and armoured vehicles from the streets.

It only took EA's James Miller two entries on yesterday's LiveBlog to cut through the presentation, including this note: "Despite reports of an agreement between the Arab League and the Syrian government, this video reportedly shows a large convoy of military reinforcements moving INTO the city of Homs."

The reality beyond the diplomatic dancing is that Homs is now the centre of an ongoing battle involving the Syrian military, defecting troops, and residents. Fifteen of the 17 deaths reported by activists on Wednesday were from that city, and just to the northwest in Kafr Laha, a gruesome episode was being presented: 15 Syrian soldiers in retaliation for the slaying of 11 civilians, allegedly beheaded.