Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Slow Build-Up

2005 GMT: Two clips of demonstrations in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, with a large Shi'a population, in support of the uprising in Bahrain:

Libya Video: Eman Al-Obeidi Tells Her Story (with Help of Qaddafi's Son)
Yemen Portrait: The Protests, the President, and His Supporters in Washington (Filkins)
Bahrain Feature: Medicins Sans Frontieres on "Military Crackdown on Patients
Libya Feature: Opposition Has Fighters, But Does It Have an Army? (Chivers)
Bahrain: US Secretary of Defense Gates Forgets to Ask About The Repression
Thursday's Libya, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Just Another Day of Many Thousand Protesters

1950 GMT: Support for Syrian protesters from the crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square today:

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1845 GMT: AFP summarises that at least 22 protesters were killed in Syria on Friday, according to Ammar Qurabi, the head of the National Organization for Human Rights.

"We have the names of 17 demonstrators killed in Daraa, and we have been told of the deaths of two protesters in Homs and three in Harasta," Qurabi said by phone from Cairo, where he live in exile. "We are aware that live bullets, tear gas and another gas that causes fainting were used."

Abdel Karim Rihawi, who heads the Syrian League for the Defense of Human rights, said demonstrators were injured in clashes in the industrial city of Homs and that there had also been fighting in Harasta, north of the capital. Rihawi also said several thousand people demonstrated in the port city of Baniyas, 20 km (12 miles) north of Damascus.

Thousands of people also marched in five towns in northern Syria, mainly in predominantly Kurdish Hasaka and Amouda, calling for an end to emergency rule and the release of prisoners, according to another rights activist.

"More than 3,000 people, Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians, demonstrated in Qamishli after Friday prayers before staging a sit-in on the main road," Kurdish rights activist Radif Mustafa said.

1805 GMT: Syrian State TV is saying that armed groups have killed 19 policemen in Daraa in the south. Al Arabiya is claiming, in contrast, that 23 protesters have been slain.

1615 GMT: A summary of today's developments in Yemen --- security forces killed three anti-regime protesters and injured at least 35 in the southern town of Taiz, after President Ali Abdullah Saleh rejected an initiative proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council in which he would step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution for himself and his family (see 1235 and 1315 GMT).

1555 GMT: Thanks to Ali Yenidunya for keeping up with events this afternoon. I return to find that the US has imposed financial sanctions on five more officials of the Libyan regime and two entities controlled by Muammar Qaddafi's children.

The new additions to the blacklist, which includes a prohibition on US transactions and a freeze on assets, include regime Prime Minister, Ali al-Mahmoudi Al Baghdadi, Qaddafi's Chief of Staff, Bashir Salehand, Minister of Finance Abdulhafid Zlitni, Minister of Oil Shukri Ghanem, and internal security director Tohami Khaled.

1320 GMT: Qaddafi forces tried to enter Misurata, Libya's third-largest city,  from the east, but it is reported that they have been pushed back.

1315 GMT: Yemen's President Saleh's speech to thousands, saying that Qatar's proposal is unacceptable.

1255 GMT: Syrian security forces fired live ammunition in Dara and at least two people were wounded, according to a witness. There is still nothing confirmed regarding the number of people killed or wounded. According to other sources, more than ten Syrians were killed. 

1240 GMT: After the prayer in Tahrir...

1235 GMT: Tens of thousands of people in Yemen gathered after Friday Prayers to demand the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh who rejected the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)'s proposal calling for Saleh to transfer powers to Vice President Abdu Rabo Mansour.

1230 GMT: Shiite protesters in Bahrain asked for help from Iran's Supreme Leader.

1220 GMT: A group of military officers have joined the protesters in Tahrir while hundreds of Egyptians were cheering for their arrival. 

1120 GMT: Unconfirmed reports are coming in of mass protests in Syria.

1105 GMT:President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said that he rejects an initiative from any other country to resolve the crisis in Yemen: "We derive power and legitimacy from the people. It is a unified democratic Yemen."

1100 GMT: There are reports of "tens of thousands" of people demonstrating at Friday Prayers in Alexandria in Egypt. And this is the picture from Tahrir Square in Cairo:

0840 GMT: Following up on this morning's opening item of foreign support for the opposition military (0540 GMT), I note this provocative report from The Guardian of London:

Britain is to urge Arab countries to train the disorganised Libyan rebels, and so strengthen their position on the battlefield before negotiations on a ceasefire, senior British defence sources have indicated.

The sources said they were also looking at hiring private security companies, some of which draw on former SAS members, to aid the rebels. These private soldiers could be paid by Arab countries to train the unstructured rebel army.

"Cabinet sources" are suggesting that Jordan might provide the necessary training.

0835 GMT: NATO reports that 12 aid ships have been able to reach Libya in the past few days. The coalition says that it has hit 23 targets from Misurata to Ras Lanuf to Brega.

The NATO press conference also confirms that two strikes on Thursday hit opposition forces, causing deaths.

0820 GMT: The crowd begins to assemble in Tahrir Square in Cairo:

>0815 GMT: Another far-from-subtle statement from US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, on his tour of the Middle East, that "regime adjustment" --- at least for the Pentagon and, presumably, for President Obama since he is allowing these declarations --- actually means "regime support".

On Wednesday, Gates had given support through silence to Saudi Arabia's despatch of troops into Bahrain, not even raising the issue with Saudi King Abdullah (see separate EA entry).

Yesterday, speaking in Iraq, Gates turned to Yemen, saying it "has really eased up the pressure on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" and continued, "It's also a concern that the internal security services of many of these countries have turned to their internal problems rather than broader counterterrorism mission."

Then Gates brought in his second spectre to take attention away from internal protests: "We already have evidence that the Iranians are trying to exploit the situation in Bahrain and we also have evidence that they're talking about what they can do to create problems elsewhere."

The words of support, combined with fear, extended to Egypt, where Gates praised the leadership for being "anxious" in preventing radical Islamists from exploiting events: "We have to keep our eye on it very closely because... this is a period where extremists will probably try to take advantage -- including Iran."

As for Iraq, "a US senior official" did play the "regime adjustment" card, expressing support for Iraqi officials to "complete the government formation process, particularly to get security ministries dealt with".

0730 GMT: The Egyptian judiciary has ordered the 15-day detention of the former Chief of Staff of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, during an investigation into allegations of corruption.

Zakaria Azmi was questioned this week by Essam el-Gawahri, the senior Justice Ministry official heading a committee enquiring into corruption during Mubarak's 30-year rule.

On Monday Egypt froze Azmi's assets.

0550 GMT: Beyond Libya, what are we watching? Well, Friday means the possibility of protest (Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq) and preventing protest from reviving (Bahrain).

0540 GMT: Little overnight news from Libya, but there is this small nugget --- "Abdel Fattah Younes, the defected head of the rebel military, confirmed for the first time that the opposition forces have received foreign weapons: anti-tank guns from Qatar".

There are likely to be more weapons than Younes admitted. Weeks ago, the story emerged that arms were secretly being moved across the Egyptian border to the insurgents.

The significance here is that Younes, with statements like this, is trying to show that the opposition military is now under control (his) and beginning to organise. That is a response to stories, such as the feature in EA on Thursday, of an ill-prepared, uncoordinated army with no clear direction.

Another contest is emerging on the economic front. Qatar also has a role here, offering to broker sales of oil by the opposition, which has physical control of most of Libya's oilfields, and the insurgents have announced they have made their first transaction. On Thursday, however, the regime reportedly moved to cut off this possibility, attacking the fields to prevent production and distribution.