Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Expect More Funeral Protests

See also Saturday's Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Won't Give Up, Won't Back Down

1520 GMT: Yesterday we received a picture from an activist showing a man, reportedly in Sitra, Bahrain, standing in front of a police convoy at protests. Frankly, I don't like pictures, as they are hard to verify, but today we have received and EXCLUSIVE VIDEO of the same scene, and more. Protesters take to the streets, but tear gas, and what appears to be rubber bullets (though it's possible that live ammunition was also used) is fired towards the protesters. Amidst the smoke an chaos, the police convoy can be seen, and the man with no shirt stands in front of it.

1540 GMT: Tanks in the streets of Jisr Al-Shogour, Idlib, on Sunday.

1535 GMT: Gunfire on Syrians in Deir ez-Zor and Moaz Al-Rakkad shot dead on Sunday.

1530 GMT: Documents showing names of mercenaries recruited from Chad and Nigeria by Gaddafi. 

1525 GMT: According to U.S. officials, President Obama is looking for alternative ways to urge Ramallah not to go to UN General Assembly on September 20. It is claimed that the administration has circulated a proposal for renewed peace talks between Israelies and Palestinians. 

However, it may already be too late, according to senior American officials and foreign diplomats. Now, Washington needs to decide on its strategy. It has already made it clear to Ramallah that it will block any attempt which could trigger large waves of protests in the region in return. Time is running out for the Obama Administration.

1515 GMT: Video showing tanks in front of the great mosque in Deir az-Zor on Sunday.

1500 GMT: Guma al-Gamaty, the National Transitional Council co-coordinator in Britain, said Gaddafi should face trial in Libya, regardless of the International Criminal Court charges against him.

1455 GMT: Another video showing protests in Homs on Saturday.

1445 GMT: The National Transitional Council should stop the arbitrary arrests and abuse of African migrant workers and black Libyans assumed to be mercenaries, Human Rights Watch said. Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said:

It’s a dangerous time to be dark-skinned in Tripoli. The NTC should stop arresting African migrants and black Libyans unless it has concrete evidence of criminal activity. It should also take immediate steps to protect them from violence and abuse.

1435 GMT: Does Turkey's expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and downgrading its ties with Israel put pressure on Egypt to follow a similar track due to its soldiers being killed by Israeli forces recently? Is it a test for the new rulers of Egypt?

Issandr El Amrani, an independent analyst and blogger, says:  

The timing of Turkey's announcement and especially the reduction in the level of diplomatic ties puts Egyptian authorities in an embarrassing position. It makes Turkey look decisive while Egypt looks ambivalent.

1430 GMT: Videos taken in Homs, Jassem and Deraa respectively on Saturday. 

1420 GMT: Six troops were killed and at least eight others injured when an explosive-laden vehicle exploded in Yemen's southern Aden province on Saturday night.

1415 GMT: According to activists, Syrian security forces killed at least eight civilians on Sunday. This means that at least 17 killed in Syria on Sunday.

On the other hand, the Local Co-ordination Committees said 14 people have been killed today -  8 in Idlib suburbs (Khan Sheikhoun, Saraqb, Tahtaya, Jiblaya), 4 in Garnaz in Hama suburbs, one in Homs, and one in Jisren in Damascus suburbs. 

1410 GMT: The Al-Thawra newspaper, a state-run newspaper in Syria, says the European Union's ban on oil imports from the country was a sign that Europe is trying to regain its colonial past.

1405 GMT: Egypt's military has began an operation to close a network of smuggling tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border. Officials said that three mechanized sensors were activated to identify tunnel locations and mark them for destruction.

1400 GMT: Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said on Sunday he could visit Syria this week.

1355 GMT: The death toll is rising from 12 to at least 15 on Sunday, according to activists in Syria. 

1350 GMT: Protests took place in Homs on Saturday. 

1345 GMT: After suspending military agreements with Israel and moving to downgrade diplomatic relations, Ankara is preparing to challenge Israel's blockade at the International Court of Justice. 

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting:

Over the weekend, the UN issued it the Palmer Report, which unequivocally determines that the State of Israel acted according to international law during the events regarding the Mavi Marmara flotilla.  The commission determined what we knew from the outset – that the State of Israel has the full and basic right to defend itself.  We need not apologize for the fact that naval commandos defended their lives against an assault by violent IHT activists.  We need not apologize for the fact that we acted to stop the smuggling of weapons to Hamas, a terrorist organization that has already fired over 10,000 missiles, rockets and mortar rounds at our civilians.  We need not apologize for the fact that we acted to defend our people, our children and our communities. 

To the naval commandos, I would like to say that just as you and the rest of the IDF defend us, we will defend you everywhere and in every forum.  I reiterate that the State of Israel expresses regret over the loss of life.  I also hope that a way will be found to overcome the disagreement with Turkey.  Israel has never wanted a deterioration in its relations with Turkey; neither is Israel interested in such a deterioration now."

1340 GMT: According to NTC fighters, the number of Gaddafi troops in Bani Walid is less than 100.

1240 GMT: From yesterday's funeral ceremony for Ali Almoamena and 14-year old Ali Alshaikh.

And after the funeral, it is showing the attacks on the protests in Sitra on Saturday.

1220 GMT: Accordign to activists, security forces shot dead three people in the Khan Sheikhwan area of Idlib province. On the other hand, nine people including an officer were killed and 17 were wounded in an ambush on a bus carrying soldiers and workers in Maharda, Hama. 

1135 GMT: According to members of the National Transitional Council, the talks failed mid-day on Sunday. Mahmoud Abdul Aziz, one of those on the negotiation team, said "The push is going to happen in the next 24 hours."

1030 GMT: Cuba announced the withdrawal of its ambassador and diplomatic mission in Libya and reiterated that it does not recognise the transitional government. It blamed NATO for killing "thousands" of civilians in Libya and said it "will only recognise a government established in Libya in a legitimate manner, without foreign intervention, through the free, sovereign, and common will of the brother people of Libya."

Having warned NATO for likely possible consequences in Syria, it said:

Cuba calls upon the international community to prevent a new war, urges the United Nations to abide by its duty to safeguard peace, and supports the right of the Syrian people to full sovereignty and self-determination.

0955 GMT: According to activists who spoke to Al Jazeera, at least seven people died on Saturday in Syria. Among those four killed in Idlib, there was a soldier who refused to open fire on protestors. One was killed in Hama; one was killed in Kaseer near Homs; and one person died in Zamalka from injuries sustained on Friday. 

0945 GMT: The opposition fighters in Libya said that they were preparing to attack Bani Walid.

Al Jazeera's James Bays reports that the National Transitional Council's forces are surrounding the city while continuing the negotiations track at the same time.

0940 GMT: It is Ali Yenidunya taking over now. Thanks to James for the morning updates. This video is showing a protest in the Almeidan neighborhood in Damascus on Saturday night. A banner reads: "Yes for citizens protection and no for military intervention – boycott Russia and China".

0415 GMT: It is becoming a self-fulfilling threat to the Assad regime. Each day, as protests grow in scale and reach, Assad security forces fire on more protesters, kill civilians, the next day there are large funerals, which break out into protests, which are fired upon, killing more people, leading to more funerals, protests...

Friday, Syrian security killed 20 people. They deployed tanks all over the country, and they started building sniper dens on the roofs. What happened yesterday?

The protests may have gotten even bigger.

So what does Assad think is going to happen today?

Updates will likely be much lighter today, as James will be indisposed for a large portion of the day, and Scott is still on vacation.