Syria, Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: 1st-Hand Accounts

2030 GMT: Gathering in the coastal town of Latakia in Syria tonight:

1900 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration in Idlib Province in Syria today, calling for the downfall of the Assad regime:

1715 GMT: A demonstration by women in Ma'ameer in Bahrain today:

1655 GMT: The Bahraini police have confirmed that three female activists have been arrested (see 1539 GMT) after they entered the United Nations building and refused to leave after the close of working hours.

The three are Zainab al-Khawaja, sister of prominent activist Maryam al-Khawaja of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and daughter of the detained opposition figure Abdulhadi al-Khawaja; Asma Darwish; and Sawsan Jawad.

1635 GMT: Representatives of Yemen's political opposition have dismissed another mediation offer by the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, noting that the GCC's deals have been repeatedly rejected by President Saleh.

Sultan al-Atwani, a member of the group, said, "It would have been better for the GCC to be braver, and specify who has rejected this initiative and brought Yemen to where it is now."

1539 GMT: On Twitter there is a report that three activists entered the UN headquarters in Bahrain in order to stage a peaceful sit-in until their demands were heard. They delivered their message to a deputy director there, and he then asked them to leave. Eventually, the UN officials called the Bahraini police, who enetered the building and arrested them.  

According to the official Ministry of Interior,"Legal procedures were taken today against three ladies refused to leave the UN office after receiving complaint from the office's officials."

1442 GMT: Another video, from another angle, showing large crowds marching today in Hama, Syria.

1434 GMT: Tony Birtey reports from a rebel position, 14km from the besieged town of Zlitan.

1424 GMT: The rebel leader of Misrata is asking why NATO airstrikes are not doing enough to secure the neighboring town of Zlitan. 

"As you know our forces could not get into Zlitan," said Zuwawi. "We need Nato help. We are very surprised because Nato has delayed to bomb the grad [rocket artillery] forces."

1351 GMT: Reuters is reporting that Gaddafi forces have launched more than 20 Grad rockets at the town of Nalut, as well as shelling the Wazin border crossing with Tunisia. 

1349 GMT: Meanwhile, this video claims to show the youth "reclaiming" Freedom Square in Taiz after they were driven out earlier this month.

1343 GMT: Activists are claiming that as many as 120,000 are demonstrating in Hama, Syria, as we speak.

1336 GMT: UK's Major General Nick Pope said that RAF aircraft destroyed three ammunition dumps in Waddan, Libya yesterday, and they also attacked a military vehicle near Yafran in the Djebel Nafousa.

1318 GMT: Journalist Dominic Waghorn posts this video, uploaded this week, showing the Syrian military patrolling Deraa with fixed bayonets. He also posts this ridiculous video of a Syrian tank crushing civilian motorcycles.

1312 GMT: A Canadian company, Netsweeper Inc, is responsible for developing internet censorship and filtering software for Yemen, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, among others. According to the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab spokesman:

“There are a lot of governments out there interested in blocking access to all sorts of content from their citizens,” Deibert said. “And many of them do so with respect to human rights content, opposition, gay and lesbian content, all of which is being nicely categorized and blocked by Netsweeper.”

The company maintains that it does not sell its services to government organizations, but to telecommunications companies, but according to its website, their products can filter a “list of 90+ categories to meet government rules and regulations — based on social, religious or political ideals.”

1258 GMT: For a second day in a row, activists are reporting large anti-government protests in Hama, Syria.

1253 GMT: According to the Yemeni government, Qatar has been funding the opposition to President Saleh. According to the report, the Yemeni government intercepted some of the funds:

"The authorities have discovered transactions made through Qatar and the mediator in this is our former ambassador (in Cairo) Abdulwali al-Shumeiri," deputy information minister Abdo al-Janadi told reporters.

"We call onto Qatar... to stop financially supporting rifts inside Yemen's army and to work instead on (backing) the country's security and stability."

1238 GMT: The people of Maarat al-Numanin, Syria, are bracing for a military attack,  perhaps one that was similar to what hit Jisr al-Shughour. Tanks now surround the city, though they have yet to enter.

1228 GMT: James Miller takes over here, and Paul Owen reports from Zlitan, Libya:

"[Zlitan] got quite a pounding yesterday and they were, I suppose, led to believe that Nato was going to do something about it. Misrata's forces advanced yesterday to try to hook up with the rebels because they were taking so much rocket fire, and then Misrata's rebels found these Nato leaflets drifting down among them saying there would be heavy Apache strikes [see Chris's story here] , so the rebels concluded: 'Nato's going to do the job; we'd better get out of the line of fire.'"

1130 GMT: Image of a flyer which is allegedly being dropped by NATO aircraft on Qaddafi forces in Libya: 1) "NATO's forces will take all necessary measures to destroy military vehicles which may threaten civilians. Stop and retreat from fighting NOW because when you see this helicopter it will be too late." 2) "There is nowhere to hide. It is not too late to stop fighting and retreat. If you continue to threaten civilians you will be destroyed."

1120 GMT: Witnesses indicate that the Syrian regime is expanding its military occupation in the north, with thousands fleeing as tanks and troops moved into Maarat al-Numaan and deployed in Deir al-Zor and around Albu Kamal on the border with Iraq.

Maarat al-Numaan, with a population of 100,000, straddles the main north-south highway linking Damascus with Syria's second-largest city Aleppo. The move follows last week's takeover of the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour and surrounding villages near the border with Turkey.

1100 GMT: More on the insurgent takeover of parts of Houta, the capital of Lahj Province in southern Yemen (see 0745 GMT)....

One soldier was killed and three were wounded in the fighting. Between 150 and 200 insurgents are in control of several neighborhoods in the southern part of the town and are deployed in farmlands just outside.

1000 GMT: Protest in Hama last night with the song, "We Will Stay Here":

0935 GMT: Syrian Minister of Information Adnan Mahmoud has declared that more than 9000 recent refugees can return from Turkey as “electricity, water and communications have now been restored in Jisr al-Shughur and the area is now safe.”

The minister said that the Syrian Red Cross will work with Turkey “to guarantee the return of refugees.”

0910 GMT: In Bahrain, the trial of three journalists accused of fabricating news adjourned after a few minutes Wednesday.

Judges in a civilian court postponed proceedings until Sunday after the defense presented documents showing detailed communications between editors of Al-Wasat newspaper, King Hamad and other top government officials. In the correspondence, the editors express their beliefs that they are working for peace and stability and present articles from the paper that call for calm and restraint.

Mansoor al-Jamri, former editor-in-chief of Al-Wasat, Walid Nouwaihidh, former managing editor and Aqeel Mirza, the former head of the local news department, are on trial after being forced to resign from the newspaper in April. A fourth man, Ali al-Sharifi, is being tried in absentia.

0830 GMT: The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, speaking in Argentina, has spoken about the "very worrisome" situation in Syria:

"This struggle has spread beyond any single square, any village or town. It has spread all throughout the country. The Government has responded with horrific attacks. I once again urge President Assad of Syria to allow humanitarian access to affected areas and to allow the Human Rights Council-mandated assessment mission.

Last week a UN spokesperson confirmed that the Secretary-General’s attempt to telephone President Assad to discuss the latest developments had been unsuccessful.

0755 GMT: Bahraini companies are threatening legal action against the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions if its board does not resign.

The GFBTU called for nationwide strikes in February and March at the height of the protests against the regime.

The companies, include State airline Gulf Air and energy producers --- have called on the GFBTU's Secretary General Salman Mahfoodh to allow "competent unionists" to take control.

0745 GMT: Yemeni regime officials report that militants seized parts of the southern city of Houta in a dawn attack.

0640 GMT: White-collar workers, including engineers, lawyers, doctors, and pharmacists demonstrate in Hama on Tuesday:

0635 GMT: In Libya, NATO aircraft attacked Tripoli on Tuesday night, while insurgents pushed back regime forces on three fronts.

The opposition is trying to advance in north-central Libya on the oil town of Brega. It seized the town of Kikla, 150 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Tripoli, and insurgents pushed several kilometers west beyond Misurata stronghold to the outskirts of regime-held Zlitan.

0630 GMT: CNN posts first-hand accounts from Sana'a in Yemen.

A 28-year-old manager in a pharmaceutical company: "There's a lot of ambiguity about what's happening, and a lot of negotiations going on in the background. In the meantime, people are living with shortages. The fuel stations were completely closed for about five days and there were long lines when they reopened. The price of water has doubled because the pumps in the wells are operated by diesel, as are the vehicles to transport it. Cooking gas has also doubled in price."

A 29-year-old doctor and activist: "We have four-hour queues for fuel, and the electricity has been going off more than normal, affecting life for everyone. We are used to losing power, but now we have no electricity about 16 hours a day. The problem is becoming worse every day. It concerns me that we might get to a point where it creates more tension and things break down."

0610 GMT: The Committee to Protect Journalists has criticised the trial in the UAE of five men over their online writing.

The five are charged with "inciting to disobey laws and undertaking acts that endanger state security and affect public order and countering the system of government and insulting the president and his deputy and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi". The accused are Ahmed Mansoor, a prominent political blogger who also runs the political online forum Al-Hiwar al-Emarati, financial analyst, writer, and economics lecturer Nasser bin Ghaith, blogger Fahd al-Shehi along with activists Hassan Ali Khamis, and Ahmad Abdel Khaliq.

0540 GMT: A doctor from Bahrain blogs about the first session of the trial of his colleagues (see Tuesday's LiveBlog):

When I went to the court room for a pre-trial hearing I was shocked by the state of the detained doctors. All of them looked the same. They were in filthy clothes, and some came to the trial in pyjamas. (During the trial, the judge said that they should be able to call their relatives for decent clothes, but this seemed designed only to humiliate them further.) Their heads were shaved, and they were sweaty and tired. Most of them had lost a lot of their weight. One of the witnesses told us that when the doctors were brought from the prison to the court, they were blindfolded and handcuffed. They let them stand in the sun for around 30 minutes before bringing them to the court (the temperature in Bahrain currently ranges from 38 to 41 degrees Celsius).

One of the doctors, who was released earlier (but went to trial), said that during his arrest, they took him and another two female medics to the CID (criminal investigation directorate). There she saw 10-12 doctors sitting on the floor, blindfolded, handcuffed, and with their heads shaved. They had all been bought for confession in front of Bahraini TV. During the confessions, the police and others interrupted the recording if the doctors said something they don’t want them to say. She said: “We have to say exactly what they want us to say and not the truth.”

These confessions have not yet been broadcast. What is done usually is that these confessions are put on TV after the trials as evidence for their crimes. It was done for the protesters who were accused of killing a police man. The TV company also broadcast confessions from two doctors admitting that they spoke to the international press and told the world lies about injured protesters in order to show the world that the Bahraini regime is brutal and inhumane, and to put pressure on the government.

At the end of the hearing we were allowed to speak to the detained doctors. One said that he was beaten with a wooden board, slapped on the face, and was subject to a lot of verbal humiliations. He was also forced to eat excrement.

0530 GMT: The Los Angeles Times features comments from a few of the more than 9000 people who have reportedly fled into Turkey to escape fighting in and around the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour.

From a woman in her 30s: "The regime started killing people, people who were just asking for freedom, young people. There were helicopters hovering in the sky, and tanks. They killed them without mercy. When we left, there was random gunfire. We fled in the middle of the night. We walked for miles and we have a small girl with us. My mom is old and tired. So we walked and stopped, walked and stopped."

And from a 55-year-old carpenter: "There is no one left [in Jisr al-Shughour, with a population of 50,000]. Not a single human being. The whole city fled into the mountains. They robbed the houses. They poured gasoline on the crops and burned everything down. They didn't leave anything. They only know the language of killing. That's all they understand."

0510 GMT: We begin this morning with this account from "Jasmine Roman", a blogger in the Syrian capital Damascus to Steve Inskeep of US National Public Radio:

Ms. JASMINE ROMAN (Blogger): In Damascus, I can tell you, you can hardly notice anything changed since the unrests took place, you know, in March, in other cities. In Damascus, people seem (unintelligible) in another planet actually. Of course, people are not going out as they used to be, but everything is just normal just like before. There is no demonstrations. There is no indication of what's happening in Syria, so you cannot rely on Damascus to know what's happening.

INSKEEP: Now, when you say that things have been normal in Damascus, almost as if nothing is going on on a day-to-day basis...

Ms. ROMAN: Yeah.

INSKEEP: Is that because people in Damascus still support the government, or because people in Damascus are afraid to speak out?

Ms. ROMAN: Well, you can say both. Basically, in Damascus, people are more or less from middle-class and upper-middle-class, and they don't want any change, because they don't want to risk it, you know, whether financially, socially or whatever. And also, you have some people who might want to have changes in the country, but they don't dare, because as I said in my writings, there are great social pressure on people and moderate voices are not being heard, as usual. So you're either anti or pro. And it's much easier to get yourself in the pro box or pro container, because people would accept you more. And...

INSKEEP: You mean pro-government. That's what you're saying.

Ms. ROMAN: Pro-government. Yes. And some people also are afraid to speak because they are talking about 40 years of oppressing, so it's not easy to ask people to speak their minds.

INSKEEP: What kinds of things are you hearing if you run across someone who is not so well off or who has not benefitted in some way from the Assad regime? What do they say?

Ms. ROMAN: Basically, they got fed up of 40 years of oppressing regime, and they just don't buy these lies told by the state's media about what's happening. So, of course, they would take the protest's side, but in different tones and size. Maybe they won't say it directly, because we have another problem, that the protest itself is leaderless and it's not well organized. They don't have specific agenda to follow. I think if they unite they would attract more people and audience to evolve around the protest.

INSKEEP: How uncomfortable is it these days to have a discussion at a dinner party or in any other sitting? Do the discussions frequently get into uneasy territory?

Ms. ROMAN: Yeah. It's pressuring and sticky sometimes, because people are not accepting each other anymore. They are not focusing on the national security or the democracy or the freedom for the sake of the country. They just exchange accusations, and it's very easy now to label someone and to say this is anti or this is pro, which is, you know, like really limitize(ph) Syrian people into two extreme pillars.

And this would make the Syrians lose the golden chance to make a real change in the country. And it's really overwhelming to have this conversation, even sometimes with closest friends to you, because they won't accept you. And this is how I described it in my writing, the social pressure, daily battle to keep living, surviving and trying to have, like, moderate voice on your own.