Yemen, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Fighting Renewed

Clashes last night around Freedom Square in Taiz in Yemen(see 0455 GMT)

1655 GMT: Earlier, we noted an Associated Press update that Hamza al-Qu'ayti was likely among the 57 Al Qaeda members who escaped a Yemeni prison today. Hamza was killed in 2008 (thanks to Gregory Johnsen for that catch).

1634 GMT: The commander of NATO forces in Libya, Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, has responded to calls for a ceasefire by stating that any lull in action would empower Gaddafi's forces. He dismissed claims that civilian casualties were on the rise, pointing out that very few of the air strikes have resulted in collateral damage, despite the fact that Gaddafi is still actively hiding amongst civilians while targeting civilians with his own strikes.

Bouchard also dismissed claims that a ceasefire was neccesary for humanitarian aid to reach civilians. He pointed out that aid is reaching civilians in rebel-controlled territory, and that Gaddafi was actively blocking this access in his own territory:

“A ceasefire, temporary in nature, cannot just be an opportunity for both sides to reload and engage in further violence down the road. We must continue to stay engaged to prevent that rearming from taking place and reinforcement from taking place,” he said.

“Truly, at the end of the day, if the Gadhafi regime wants their population to receive humanitarian assistance all they have to do is let the shipments go by.”

1616 GMT: The Associated Press is reporting fresh clashes in Bahrain, after 21 activists have been sentenced today, 8 of the with life sentences (see updates below):

"Witnesses say Bahrain security forces have fired tear gas at protesters after a security court sentenced eight Shia activists to life in prison. Witnesses say marchers were trying to reach a central square in Bahrain's capital Manama, which was once the hub of their protests for greater rights in the Gulf kingdom. It was the first significant effort by protesters inmonths to return to the streets.

"The court Wednesday issued life sentences against eight Shia activists and long jail terms for 13 others after convictions on seeking to overthrow the ruling system. Fourteen of the defendants were in custody, and the others were sentenced in absentia."

1532 GMT: Bahrain News Agency is reporting that lawyer for imprisoned Matar Matar is denying claims that he was tortured while in prison:

"In a statement to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Ahmed Jassim said that he had delivered his final pleading at yesterday's hearing comfortably and freely, adding that his client had not attended the session because there was a mistake in the schedule and that the head judge allowed the defendant to meet his lawyer and relatives. The lawyer also confirmed that he had met Matar Matar today in the presence of his family and noticed no signs of torture, adding that, during the meeting, the suspect had not mentioned illegal things that may have happened to him during detention."

1529 GMT: Earlier we reported:

Activist Maryam Al Khawaja, whose father was sentenced to life in prison by a Bahraini emergency court this morning, reports that her sister, Zainab Al Khawaja, "shouted 'Allahu Akbar' when the sentence was read, and was arrested because of it".

Maryam is now reporting that her sister was released after being forced to sign a pledge, presumably one that bars her from protesting. 

1517 GMT: An activist has posted five pictures from today's anti-regime rally in Taiz, Yemen.

1458 GMT: A huge crowd of protesters rally in Hama in memory of those killed yesterday.

1444 GMT: A major setback in the war on terror, and potentially another complication for Arab Spring - 57 Al Qaeda members have escaped from the Mukalla prison in Hadramout province, southern Yemen. In a well coordinated plan, militants attacked the prison from the outside while the prisoners grabbed weapons and escaped through a tunnel. 

It is believed that Hamza al-Qehety, the leader of a local terrorist cell, was among those who escaped. 

In Yemen, there are three ongoing fronts of conflict: Pro-democracy protesters against the Saleh regime, Yemen's tribes against the Saleh regime, and the Saleh regime and its US allies against radical Islamic militants, including Al Qaeda, in the south.

1437 GMT: This video, reportedly taken today, shows "hundreds of thousands" of anti-government protesters in Taiz, Yemen, protesting the interference by Saudi Arabia in the progress of the revolution.

1424 GMT: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's cousin, Ribal Al-Assad, has a grim assessment of the situation, "We're on brink of regional war." (see the whole interview here)

1409 GMT: Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, head of the Hashid tribe in Yemen, has stated that he believes Saleh's return to Yemen would only spark civil war. He also said that what was happening, thus far, in Yemen was not a civil war, but rather a movement of peaceful youth against the regime:

"The real and direct reasons were our siding with the peaceful revolution for change and our support for it out of our belief in its noble values and great aims. Ali Saleh tried to drag us into marginal battles so as to divert us from our real interests and the Yemeni people's demands for change. When he failed to do this, he launched his unjust aggression and sent mediators to us with the missiles behind them. He killed and wounded many mediators. The war on Al-Hasbah continued and we waited for his forces and taught them harsh lessons because we were defenders and they were aggressors."

He denied responsibility or knowledge about an attack that left President Ali Abdullah Saleh injured. 

1400 GMT: Egypt's Prosecutor General has established a panel of judges to investigate alleged torture at the hands of police before the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. 

1356 GMT: The EU has expanded sanctions again Syria:

EU states have reached a political agreement to extend sanctions against Syria to four military-linked entities and seven individuals, including three Iranians, linked to suppression of dissent, EU diplomats say.

1337 GMT: Franco Frattini, the Italian Foreign Minister, has also joined the calls for a ceasefire in Libya, citing concerns about civilian casualties. 

On Sunday, as many as 9 civilians were killed in what NATO is calling a weapon's malfunction. Civilians may have also been killed in a case of mistaken identity on Friday. While these reports are serious, there have been relatively few credible reports of civilian deaths at the hands of NATO air strikes, according to reporters on the ground. However, multiple people have been killed in the last two days at the hands of Gaddafi rocket attacks. 

1330 GMT: Amr Moussa, head of the Arab League, has expressed second thoughts and misgivings about the NATO air campaign against Colonel Gaddafi in Libya. Expressing concerns about this week's reported civilian casualties, he expressed a desire for a political solution.

"That has to start with a genuine ceasefire under international supervision. Until the ceasefire, Gaddafi would remain in office … Then there would be a move to a transitional period … to reach an understanding about the future of Libya."

However, France is staunchly against any ceasefire, and instead would like to see a continued escalation of pressure on the Gaddafi regime:

"The coalition and the countries that met as the Abu Dhabi contact group two weeks ago were unanimous on the strategy: we must intensify the pressure on Gaddafi," Bernard Valero, a ministry spokesman, told reporters.

"Any pause in operations would risk allowing him to play for time and to reorganise. In the end, it would be the civilian population that would suffer from the smallest sign of weakness on our behalf."

1324 GMT: The Guardian has posted several videos showing martyrs, clashes, and protests in Hama yesterday. Besides the graphic content showing, among other deaths, the body of 12-year-old Hamza Drnouh, this video struck us as interesting. Members of the Presidential Delegation walk down a corridor, and anti-regime slogans can be heard. They state that they are leaving the city of Hama, as chants of "The People want the fall of the regime" surround them. On their way out of town, one protester says, "He [Bashar] either leave, or bring back to us our dead children," as the crowds chant "You criminal, Bashar," and, "Curse your soul, Hafez."

Bashar al-Assad is the current President, but his father, Hafez, was responsible for a massacre in Hama in 1982.

1258 GMT: The AFP is reporting that 100 students have been arrested in Damascus, Syria, last night. This is the latest in a government crackdown against students in both Damascus and Aleppo, potential hotbeds of dissent in cities that are the focus of the regime's efforts to maintain control. 

1242 GMT: Walid al-Muallem, Syria's foreign minister, has accussed the European Union of planting "strife and chaos" inside Syria, and he warned that no outside powers have any authority over the current crisis.

He also blamed Al Qaeda for many of the deaths in recent weeks, though he did not offer any evidence as to why he believed this.

1233 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood has expelled a leading political figure, Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, because he is committed to running for President of Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood has stated that it will not attempt to fill the hole left by the departure of President Hosni Mubarak. 

James Miller takes the liveblog.

0940 GMT: A series of pointed reactions from journalists and activists to the verdicts in Bahrain against 21 activists, including eight given life in prison, amidst regime proclamations of a "national dialogue":

>Blake Hounshell: "To review: the Bahraini regime called for dialogue with [opposition party] al-Waad and then sentenced its co-leader [Ibrahim Sharif] to five years in prison."

Kareem Shaheen: "Seems Bahrain doesnt give a damn anymore"

Tom Gara: "Bahrain is totally the dude who has given up and wears his boxers to the supermarket"

0930 GMT: Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has called for "an immediate humanitarian suspension of hostilities" in Libya to allow aid to reach the population.

Frattini told Parliament, "With regard to NATO, it is fair to ask for increasingly detailed information on results as well as precise guidelines on the dramatic errors involving civilians."

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera English summarises the renewal of regime rocket attacks on opposition-held Misurata, 210 kilometres (130 miles) east of Tripoli.

The attacks, the first in weeks, killed two people south of the city on Tuesday. A child was killed and two people wounded on Monday.

0925 GMT: Activist Maryam Al Khawaja, whose father was sentenced to life in prison by a Bahraini emergency court this morning, reports that her sister, Zainab Al Khawaja, "shouted 'Allahu Akbar' when the sentence was read, and was arrested because of it".

0910 GMT: The Bahrain Center for Human Rights updates on today's sentences for 21 activists.

Of the 14 in court, seven received life sentences. One of the seven is Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, the father of activists Maryam and Zainab Al Khawaja.

Four defendants in courts received 15-year sentences. Two got five years, and one was given a two-year term.

Of the seven defendants in absentia, one was sentenced to life, and six were given 15-year terms.

0900 GMT: The Bahraini emergency court has sentenced 10 prominent activists and opposition leaders to life in prison on charges of plotting a coup during the uprising that began on 14 February.

Among those who received life sentences were Hassan Mushaimaa, the leader of the opposition group Haq. The faction joined two others in a call for the overthrow of Bahrain's monarchy.

Other defendants received lesser sentences. Ibrahim Sharif, the Sunni leader of the secular leftist Waad party, was sentenced to five years in prison. Waad and Bahrain's largest Shi'ite opposition group Wefaq have called for a reform of the monarchy.

The defendants were defiant after the verdict. They pumped their fists in the air and shouted "Peacefully" as guards dragged them away from the courtroom. Relatives shouted "Allahu Akbar (God is Great)".

0710 GMT: Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, the head of Yemen’s most powerful tribe, has written to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah warning that the return of President Saleh to the country "will lead to sedition and civil war".

Saleh is currently in Saudi Arabia, where he is being treated for serious injuries from a blast earlier this month at the mosque in the Presidential Palace.

0615 GMT: An update on the imprisoned Bahraini poet Ayat al-Gormezi:

See also Bahrain Document: "Khalifa" --- The Poem That Put Ayat al-Qurmezi in Prison

Ayat's family went to visit her in prison this morning having been told that they could come, but when they arrived at the gates they were told that they can not see her because they didn't register for the visit and the reason they called them was to register for the next visit. However, after her family protested, they manged to see her for 5 minutes only and were constantly accompanied by a prison guard. Her brother that the prison guard was listing to every word and kept interrupting in the conversation, so they could not ask her about her treatment in the prison she had recently moved to, especially that this prison is for criminals who serving sentences for murder, drugs, prostitution etc. Her brother also noted that his sister had lost a lot of weight.

Her brother stated, regarding the video featured yesterday on Bahrain TV showing Ayat apologizing for reading her poem, that it was recorded during her torture period. The video is actually 20 minutes long and the officials only showed 1 minute.

Ayat's appeal is tomorrow.

0545 GMT: The Bahraini regime trumpets its "defined process...to manage the National Dialogue".

The chairman of the dialogue, Speaker of Parliament Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Dhahrani explained:

300 invitations had bent sent out, with 37% assigned for political societies, 36% for civil and non-governmental organisations, 21% for opinion leaders and prominent figures within the Kingdom of Bahrain and 6% for media representation.

The civil and non-governmental organisations were also covered, with a representation of 12% for professional societies, 9% for social societies, 5% for women societies, 5% for youth societies, 3% for the various labour unions and 2 % representation from the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The invitees were requested to present their views and suggestions for topics to be discussed by June 23, 2011.

0455 GMT: We begin this morning by noting clashes last night in Taiz in Yemen as the regime's Republican Guards reportedly tried to move into Freedom Square with artillery fire, mortars, and machine guns.