1939 GMT: More video claiming to show protests in Al Kiswah, Syria:
1929 GMT: Imad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to the UN, spoke with NPR today. (Audio will be available here after 6 PM ET). NPR's Andy Carvin gives us a rolling a transcript, with commentary, including a back and forth with EA's James Miller and Foreign Policy's Blake Hounshell, via Twitter:
Syrian ambassador to US: "Extreme fundamentalist Muslims are waging a war of insurgency" against
Syria ambassador: We've allowed reporters into Syria "time and again." Hmm.
Syrian ambassador on Syrians: "What unites us is far more than what divides us apart."
Syrian amb to man who says brother was killed. "This is unfortunate and I don't want to spend my time discussing preposterous stories."
Syrian man not buying it; he argues back. Ambassador ignores comments, complains media gives license to false stories.
Syrian ambassador: Not a single demonstration started from universities, from unions, from Damascus or Aleppo.
[Foreign Policy's Blake Hounshell chimes in] @acarvin That's a completely false statement; there have been demos of medical students in Aleppo and a demo at the U. of Damascus
[Andy Carvin responds, then returns to the transcript] @blakehounshell yep. Countless videos show otherwise.
Ambassador says "I could show you hundreds of videos" showing extremists on the attack. OK, show us. We've got time to watch them.
Ambassador: I'm a very proud Syrian. The only place I want to live, or my children to live, is #Syria.
Syrian ambassador: the countries that lecture us don't even allow women to drive cars or have opposition parties.
Syrian ambassador: We have committed ourselves to absolutely transparent elections. Let the elections decide who runs #Syria.
Syrian #ambassador: There is an incredible campaign against #Syria, but we do have friends: Brazil, India, South Africa, China, Russia.
[Carvin then responds to a comment by James] Me neither. RT @EANewsFeed: @blakehounshell we haven't seen a single video that definitively shows "armed gangs" or terrorists in #Syria{Andy retweets another activist] RT @JonaRenz: This facebook page has 30 videos of demonstrations in Aleppo this week. on.fb.me/ooA1Ek
1852 GMT: More videos showing men who have defected from the Syria army today. One man claims to be an army recruiter, and in the video below, a man who appears to be a high ranking office of the Khalid Bin Al Waleed battalion in al Rastan delivers a message to the other officers, asking them to defect.
If defections were a trickle before, they are at least a notable stream by now.
1847 GMT: Al Jazeera, citing the LCCS, is saying that 20 people have been killed so far today in Syria, 17 of them in Homs:
A massive tank-backed raid has killed 17 people in Homs, where communication and internet services were cut in many neighbourhoods, the Local Coordination Committees said.
Raids and attacks on Sarmeen in Idlib provice killed two people, while another person was killed in the northern city of Hama, the LCC said.
1829 GMT: Earlier, I asked if the ferocity of the Syrian military crackdown on Homs would deter protests. It appears we can now call that a rhetorical question.
Al Rastan, Homs:
Al Qusour district, Homs, earlier this afternoon:1819 GMT: A Crowd of anti-government protesters march next to the Zein Al-Abdeen mosque in Midan, near the heart of Damascus, just before sunset tonight:
1810 GMT: This video claims to show security forces firing on mourners in a funeral procession in Jableh, Lattakia, yesterday:
1759 GMT: Several weeks ago we were contacted by an activist who told us that Syrian protesters are paying soldiers for good videos(see update at 1428 GMT). Apparently, France 24 has just received a similar tip:
For the past few weeks, there has been a number of videos filmed by members of Syria’s security forces posted on YouTube, prompting the question: why are some soldiers so willing to release footage of fighting and shocking abuse to the world? According to our Observer on the ground, the answer is simple – money.
Because independent media has been banned from covering anti-government demonstrations in Syria, journalists have had no other choice but to rely on amateur images. Although most of the content spilling out of the country appears to be captured by protesters, there are also several videos filmed by soldiers and security force members. These homemade recordings, however, often depict scenes of horrific torture and brutal fighting.
Under normal circumstances, it is forbidden for members of Syria’s military to film while in combat. Yet a number of our Observers in the country have told us that despite this, some soldiers or security force members carry their mobile phones with them so they can capture what is happening. The footage is then put up for sale. Waleed Fares (not his real name), one of our Observers in Homs, says these images can often sell for several hundred euros.
The report then cites video, covered by EA two days ago, of a sniper being dared to shoot a female civilian by a fellow soldier.
1521 GMT: CNN's Ben Wedeman reports on a stockpile of thousands of Russian-made ground-to-air missiles that have gone missing in Libya:
1516 GMT: In other news, protests continue in Bahrain. This video was reportedly taken yesterday and was forwarded to us by an activist. It appears to show protesters fleeing what sounds like tear gas as a police vehicle appears to attempt to run over some of the protesters.
We cannot confirm the details of the video:
1508 GMT: Coincidence? Now Lebanon has posted a video, reportedly showing two Baath Party officials in Homs who are defecting because of the violence (they show their IDs). They also reported that there have been reports of a huge explosion near the Baath headquarters in the Inshaat neighborhood of Homs.
1505 GMT: Now Lebanon is reporting that 12 people have been killed so far today in Syria, 9 of them in Homs:
Syrian regime forces killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, including nine in a tank-backed raid on the flashpoint city of Homs, activists told AFP.
The Local Coordination Committees added that one civilian was killed in Hama and two in the Edleb district city of Sermeen.
Meanwhile, The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "military reinforcements including 20 truckloads of soldiers entered [Homs]," and that there was "intense gunfire in the market and governorate headquarters."
"Many ambulances were roaming the streets of the city," it added.
Heavy machinegun fire was heard in the Bab Dreeb and Bostan Diwan neighborhoods of Homs after 2000 protesters had set out for the area following the deaths of four people near the city on Tuesday
1444 GMT: A very hard to watch video. GRAPHIC. A young child nearly has his leg blown off, apparently by a heavy machine gun (can an AK-47 do that kind of damage?), reportedly near Bab al Dreib (the gate of the lion), Homs, today.
1438 GMT: Another leaked video. This one shows soldiers beating unarmed prisoners who have already been blindfolded and bound:
1428 GMT: Literally, the smoking gun. This footage shows a wounded man on the ground, surrounded by soldiers near a tank. He has no weapon, and may already be dead. The soldiers empty a clip into the man to make sure he is dead.
The video has no location, date, or details. There is likely a reason for that. Activists have tipped us off that some videos taken by soldiers are being bought by the opposition. However, the videos that we've seen that may fit that description usually have a lot of detail. In other words, the protesters seem to like to pay for quality, not quantity, as the videos taken by soldiers are also fairly rare. This video is described as "leaked," inferring that the soldier who took it left the location off to hide his identity.
We'll warn you, it's hard to watch:
1416 GMT: This video was reportedly taken in Kafr Batna, Damascus. Plain-clothed thugs (Shabiha) appear to be standing near police who appear to be beating people who are kneeling on the ground:
1359 GMT: Two contrasting videos from Homs. Earlier in the day, a car dares to drive down the street of a busy neighborhood. The shops are closed, there is no traffic, the streets are deserted:
Yet at noon, a very nervous sounding group of protesters dare to march, chant, and pray:1351 GMT: A large plume of black smoke rises from the Bab al Dreib neighborhood of Homs near one of the cities 7 gates. Homs is the 3rd largest city in Syria:
1341 GMT: James Miller takes the blog after a nap.
The Guardian catches us up on overnight violence in Homs:
. "All through the night, there was shooting. The gunfire didn't stop," a resident told the Associated Press news agency by phone. "I can't tell exactly what is going on because it's dangerous to go out." There were reports of some army defections in Homs today. Very graphic footage emerged purporting to show protesters being shot by snipers in Homs yesterday, when seven people were reported to have been killed there. Most foreign journalists are banned from Syria and it is very hard to verify what is happening there.
The video that they spoke of is posted below, and it is graphic. The first part I saw yesterday, and it claims to show snipers deploying on a ridge. I did not post it as it was low quality and hard to make out. The second part is hard to mistake, a videographer taking cover behind a wall as bullets ring out and a man lies dying in the streets. When other protesters go to recover the body, the firing gets more intense. We don't see who is shooting, but neither the wounded man nor the other protesters in the video appear armed, and the video claims that it is the same snipers who are shooting down into the city.
The dying man in the video is reportedly Abd Alhadee Mustafa Aldalati. According to the Guardian's report, he is one of seven killed yesterday, which matches our previous reports. But this is where things get confusing. Were 7 killed yesterday and 7 killed overnight? That's how we're reading the report. Regardless, the assault on the city of Homs has been relentless and bloody.
0808 GMT: More troubles in Egypt, where anti-Mubarak protesters have clashed with police at a football stadium (soccer, for us Americans):
More than 130 police officers were injured in clashes with fans of one of Egypt's most prominent soccer clubs following an Egyptian Cup match in Cairo, security sources and officials at the Health Ministry said.
The trouble started late Tuesday when supporters of the Al-Ahly football club chanted slogans against Mubarak and former interior minister Habib al-Adli, both on trial for murder, and threw bottles at police, police and witnesses said.
The clashes moved to a nearby street, police said, where the fans wounded 72 policemen and torched more than a dozen cars, including four police vehicles.
Seven civilians were wounded and police arrested 12 protesters, they added.
Witnesses said the clashes began when policemen tried to forcibly remove the fans, who chanted anti-Mubarak slogans after the match.
0804 GMT: According to Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, who is in Libya, negotiations between the Libyan National Transitional Council and the pro-Qaddafi forces in Bani Walid have failed:
The five Bani Walid representatives went back with the assurances from NTC, but as they approached the city, they were fired upon. They quickly came back to the rebel territory to take shelter for the night. We have talked to commanders and people here. They believe two of Gaddafi sons are still in the city, thats why no negotations work here
0745 GMT: Good morning, and thanks for joining us again today.
According to the Associated Foreign Press, 7 people were killed yesterday in Homs, Syria. Al Arabiya reports that 6 people were killed in Homs, and the Khaled bin Al-Walid Mosque is being shelled by the Syrian military. Activists speaking to the Washington Post describe the scene, and the Post adds that multiple arrests have been made in Damascus:
“The city is completely besieged. When I go to the balcony, I can see the snipers on the tall building in front of me,” said a Homs resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of safety concerns.
“It’s a nightmare,” he said. “A really big number of the activists were arrested” Monday. One activist group put the number of detainees at 200.
At least two people, including a 15-year-old boy, died in Homs on Tuesday when security forces opened fire at a checkpoint. Residents also discovered five bodies dumped in the street, apparently from raids Monday, activists said.
Several prominent activists were arrested Tuesday in the suburbs of Damascus, and other arrests took place in Latakia, Deir al-Zour, Daraa and Hama, activist networks said.
The AFP adds details of Monday's events in Homs as well. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
Four people were killed and 11 wounded when gunmen at dusk ambushed a bus carrying employees of the Homs branch of Syria's oil company.
The Britain-based group said at least 35 people were wounded in Homs, where up to 80 people were arrested in the city's Al-Khalidiyeh district.
And a "mass grave containing the remains of seven bodies" was discovered near the village of Rami in northwest Syria, the LCC reported, adding that the army prevented residents from retrieving the bodies.
The question is the same today as it has been since March - will this new wave of violent crackdowns suppress the opposition or rally it, and will the military stay unified when its orders are to brutally kill civilians? Stay tuned.