Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Shelling of Homs Continues

Another video of the shelling of the Bab Amro section of the Syrian city Homs this morning:

See also EA's Separate Bahrain Coverage, Bahrain Live Coverage Special: The Anniversary Protests
Syria Opinion: Who Are the Real Opposition?
Bahrain Special: "Responsible Reaction"--- How Police Will "Kettle" Today's Demonstrations
Monday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "The Reasonable Reaction to Provocation"

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2203 GMT: At this late hour there are unconfirmed reports that Al Bukamal, in northeastern Syria on the Iraq border, is under attack. According to one activist, Al Jazeera's Arabic network is also reporting the assault. The city is being defended by the Free Syrian Army, and clashes have been ongoing since earlier in the day, but the fresh reports suggest that they are now more intense.

2159 GMT: We've been hearing reports all day that the Khamidiya district of Hama has been under heavy attack. It appears, based on reports from several sources, and these updates from the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, that the attack has intensified again:

Intense shooting in all districts of the city and security forces wage a campaign of home raids in the neighborhoods of Faraya, Aleilat, Bashoura, Hamidiyeh, and Sharqiya. Arbaeen neighborhood and commons continue to be subject to intense shelling since noon today

2150 GMT: It is anecdotal analysis, but we have seen many more videos claiming to show new brigades of the Free Syrian Army. An activist posts two clips --- footage of new brigade in al Rastan, Homs, and this video from Ma'arrat al Numan, a key town in Idlib Province:

An activist also sent us this video, reportedly showing a massive defection in Saraqeb (see last update) two days ago:

2140 GMT: We have been hearing for weeks that large portions of Idlib Province are completely or almost completely beyond the control of the Assad military, but videos like this one drive that point how.

This was reportedly taken earlier today in Saraqeb, where the soldiers of the Free Syrian army hosted a parade. According to activists who have seen the video, the men vow to protect law and order and civil democracy:

2128 GMT: All day we have been reporting that a town in the Aleppo governorate, Al Atareb", has been under attack. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria now report that 9 people were killed there by security forces, a dealy escalation only 40 kilometers from Aleppo.

The number of documented martyrs in the town’s massacre has risen to 9, including a woman. Dozens were seriously injured due to heavy shelling by the regime’s tanks.

1952 GMT: The Syrian army reportedly resumed shelling the city of Idlib, a city that has extremely strong opposition support and a strong FSA presence. This video, posted by the LCCS, shows a hole in the side of a home, and tanks on the other side. Another video shows a large hole in the side of a building, reportedly the result of the army's shelling.

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1945 GMT: Yemeni soldiers have clashed with Al Qaeda forces today, Al Jazeera reports:

Yemen's army says it has killed 12 al-Qaeda-linked fighters in the southern town of Zinjibar.

Two soldiers have also been killed in separate clashes in the area.

The government's been battling to dislodge the group known as Ansar as-Sharia in the area since last May, and thousands have been displaced by fighting in the province.

1940 GMT: This video was reportedly taken earlier in the Hamidiya district of Hama, where armored vehicles and soldiers raided the city. Many deaths, injuries, and arrests are reported, and the reports of the violence continue to pour in at this moment:

1929 GMT: The Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre summarizes today's events earlier in Syria:

39 martyrs are reported so far today. Homs is still under bombardment while 3 farmers were abducted and killed in the town of al-Qusayr. Idlib has come under shelling from the tanks deployed around it while Assad's forces have attacked the town of Atareb in Aleppo province, Hamidiyeh neighbourhood in Hama, several towns around Damascus and the towns of Taybah and Namar in Daraa. The video shows the martyr Iyad al-Hassib, one of 4 martyrs killed when Assad's forces fired indiscrimately in the eastern city of al-Bukamal on the border with Iraq.

Since that update, however, there are still reports of violence, particularly in Hama. The LCCS has these updates, both posted within the last 30 minutes:

Hama: Injury of several people, among them children, as a result of indiscriminate shelling of Hamidiya and Arbaeen neighborhoods by regime forces and the army occupies the medical complex and converts it to a prison and a place to collect the martyrs' corpses, three tanks surround the location to protect ii.

Hama: Security forces assasinated the activist Mahmoud Al-Hajjeh aka "Abo Fahed" , while all types of internet communication has been completely disrupted for five days. The city also witnessed today the entry of a convoy of tanks to Hamidiya neighborhood from Aleppo road

1744 GMT: The Guardian posts several videos, with translations, giving some insight into the living conditions in Baba Amr, Homs, a neighborhood which has been under constant attack for months, an an area which has been heavily shelled for several weeks.

In one video, a woman reports on a shelter that has been established to protect women and children from the conflict. In another video, Dr Mohammad al-Mohammad reports on the deplorable situation in his field hospital, and begs for assistance from international agencies, such as the Red Crescent.

1728 GMT: According to the latest LCCS report, at least 40 people, probably more, have been killed by security forces across Syria, " including 3 defected soldiers (Damascus Suburbs) and 2 women. 9 in Idlib, 8 in Homs, 4 in Daraa, 4 in Aleppo, 4 in Deir Ezzor, 3 in Hama, 3 in Damascus Suburbs, 1 in Lattakia, and 1 in Damascus."

Also note that the deaths are far more evenly distributed. The crisis is now regularly claiming lives on almost every day in almost ever area of the country.

1723 GMT: Activist Rami al Jarrah shares this live-stream, showing evening protests in the Qudsayya suburb of Damascus:

Streaming Live by Ustream

1535 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria are now carrying the video we posted in our last update, and they have added these details:

Abdo Fares and Mohammad Habbosh were martyred as a result of raiding the town by the regime's forces amid intense shooting from heavy weaponry. The number of the town's martyrs has risen to 3.

1512 GMT: This video was reportedly taken in Al Atareb, Aleppo, an area that the multiple sources, including the LCCS, have reported has been under sustained attack today. The reports said that the army moved into the area and met resistance from the Free Syrian Army. The location is only approximately 40 kilometers from the city of Aleppo:

1505 GMT: The Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre has posted a report from Jabal al Zawiyah, a town which EA reported was raided by security forces yesterday:

The video shows 9 unidentified bodies dumped in Majdaliyeh village in Jabal az-Zawiyah yesterday - most of them were tied up and were shot in the head. 4 martyrs were also killed in Balshoun village during a raid by Assad's forces including the head teacher of the village school and one of his teachers. Idlib province - home to 1.5 million people - has lost more than 950 martyrs since the start of the uprising (only Homs and Hama have lost more).

They have also posted a graphic video, which claims to show the bodies.

1446 GMT: Egyptian state-run newspapers are featuring the remarks of Minister of International Cooperation Faiza Abul Naga that a surge in U.S. funding for civil society groups last year is part of an attempt to steer Egypt in "a direction that realised American and Israeli interests". and Israeli interests".

Naga's remarks, made to investigating judges in October but only made public on Monday, come after Egyptian authorities have raided non-governmental organisations, with plans to try 43 people, including 19 Americans, on charges of operating without a licence and improper funding.

"America is behind the anarchy," declared the front page of Al Gomhuria, while Al Ahram headlined, "American funding aims to spread anarchy in Egypt."

Naga was quoted as saying, "All the indications show that there was a clear desire to abort any chance for Egypt to emerge as a modern democratic state with a strong economy."

1440 GMT: The Guardian has shared some observations of a photojournalist, "Mani," working for Le Monde out of Homs:

He says he was struck by two major things during this, his second visit to Homs since the beginning of the uprising:

"On the one hand, the increase in strength of the Free Syria Army and the control it has over the opposition areas, and, on the other, the systematic and terrifying side of the regime's repression of civilians. In concrete terms, opposition areas are subjected to daily bombardements and the fire of snipers who target civilians very specifically."

Asked about the everyday difficulties of life in the city, 'Mani' says that the price of flour has doubled and that very few local bakeries are still selling bread- causing queues of hundreds to form ahead of deliveries. Electricity is cut in several neighbourhoods, he adds, and there is also a shortage of heating fuel:

"Children haven't been going to school since the beginning of the uprising. The situation in the streets is too dangerous. On the roofs of certain schools, loyalist snipers have set up positions; elsewhere, the refusal to send one's children to school is a form of civilian resistance.

"A number of people have stopped working because of the risks they face or because they refuse to collaborate in a direct or indirect way with the regime. For better or for worse, some continue to work."

1433 GMT: This is Baba Amr, Homs:

1423 GMT: The LCCS is reporting that 14 people have been killed so far across Syria, "10 of which fell in Homs, 2 fell ind Daraa and 1 in each of Damascus and Damascus Suburbs."

That report is only one hour old, however, that number is already outdated. In Rankous, north of Damascus, the town is reportedly under heavy bombardment. The LCCS is reporting that 3 farmers were abducted and killed by security forces in al Qusair, Homs. Two people have reportedly been killed in Hama. There is also further escalation in Al Bukamal, Deir Ez Zor, where the LCCS is reporting that the security forces have opened fire on a mosque, killing several people.

There are also reports of violence in Damascus. In Al Hajar al Aswad, the LCCS reports that a student protest was disrupted, and many arrests were made.

There are also reports of a significant military attack on the Aleppo suburb of Al Atareb, where the Free syrian Army has begun to battle with pro-Assad forces.

Another busy, bloody day in Syria.

1209 GMT: Tanks, part of the Syrian regime's offensive throughout Homs Province, move in Inshaat today:

1006 GMT: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said, "The shelling of the Baba Amr neighborhood began at dawn and is the most intense in five days. Two rockets are falling a minute on average."

Hadi Abdullah, an activist in Homs reached by telephone, said, "The situation is tragic. There are pregnant women, people with heart problems, diabetics and, foremost, wounded people who we cannot evacuate....The urgency is to evacuate the wounded. How can we let them die in cold blood?"

Abdullah continued, "For one week, the dead have been buried in gardens, because even the cemeteries and graves are being targeted. People are crammed into shelters."

0942 GMT: In western Libya, representatives of about 100 militias said Monday that they had formed a new federation to prevent in-fighting and to press the National Transitional Council for further reform.

The leader of the new federation, Colonel Mokhtar Fernana, claimed the Council’s committee in charge of integrating revolutionary fighters was taking in men who had fought for former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. “This committee is an attempt to hijack the revolution."

0822 GMT: In Syria, the regime's shelling of the Bab Amr section of Homs continues for an 11th day. Footage this morning, with the cameraman shouting, "Allahu Akbar":