Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Shutting Out the Journalists

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See also Israel Analysis: Benjamin Netanyahu's Best Political Friend --- Iran
Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Regime's Offensive

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2203 GMT: Because the LCCS employees a strict verification system before it certifies a death in Syria, it appears that they are overwhelmed. Many sources say that in Homs and Zabadani, but particularly in Homs, it is nearly impossible to confirm the amount of dead and injured, because of the sheer number, and because of the ongoing violence. However, the Syrian General Revolutionary Council is reporting that at least 117 were killed nationwide on Wednesday, 93 of those deaths were in Homs, and 52 of those deaths were in the Baba Amr district alone.

2116 GMT: The LCCS reports large demonstrations in "the heart of Damascus" this evening. The Coalition of Free Damascenes for Peaceful Change has told a similar story, and has posted several videos of protests in and around Damascus. We have also discovered this video, uploaded by one of the most trusted opposition news networks, that reportedly shows a protest this evening in the Abu Habl district of Midan, near the center of Damascus. It is, according to activist SeekerSK, a primarily commercial area.

2055 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria have released a statement on the humanitarian crisis facing the towns of Zabadani and Madaya, northwest of the capital:

Ongoing into the 5th day, the outcomes of random artillery shelling by the regime’s army on Zabadany and Madaya have further escalated the humanitarian crisis. The shelling has led to the martyrdom of 18 civilians, the injury of 100, and the displacement of 500. It’s worth noting that both towns are experiencing a humanitarian crisis amid a complete power and telecommunication blackout. In addition to food shortage, including infant formula and milk, amid a complete telecommunications and power blackout.

It should be noted that a similar situation is also reported in Rankous, which is smaller and less easily defended, and has been surrounded by tanks for many days.

2048 GMT: According to satellite operator Eutelsat, Al Jazeera's satellite signal is being jammed by a signal coming from somewhere in Damascus. The Qatari station has been criticized by the Syrian government for its coverage of the uprising, and the government of Qatar has been one of the most vocal voices against the Assad Regime.

Al Jazeera has listed alternative satellite frequencies on their website at http://sat.aljazeera.net.

1946 GMT: The Bahraini government has embarked on a project to install CCTV security cameras across the country, and apparently this footage has been used against some activists. The Youth Movement has, apparently, taken notice, and some have decided to take action. An EA Correspondent in Bahrain explains:

So the revolutionary youth does hate those CCTV cameras! And they've decided to put them down. Yesterday I saw the same guy [as in the video below] trying [to disable the camera] but he failed. Today he made up his mind and damaged it.

This video was reportedly taken in Abu Saiba:

1935 GMT: Another dramatic video, reportedly taken in the Baba Amr district of Homs today. According to the video, this is a home that is on fire, while explosions can be heard all around:

1927 GMT: This video was shared with us by NPR's Andy Carvin. It is taken in the Qusour district of Homs, a neighborhood that has not been hit as hard but a neighborhood that is only a few thousand feet from the target of serious bombardment. The people in the video are chanting for the other neighborhoods that have been heavily shelled since Friday night.

1738 GMT: This video was reportedly taken earlier in Baba Amr, Homs. The explosions are simple enormous:

1724 GMT: Several different sources are reporting major military campaigns in and around Homs. The LCCS reports that the towns of Teir Maala and Ghantoo, north of Homs(see map), are being shelled. Al Rastan and Talbisah are also reportedly under attack.

The Guardian, citing a Sky News Correspondent, reports that the residents between Homs and the Lebanese vorder, to the south and west, are expecting a massacre:

"There is a great expectation that there will be a massacre here," he said. "They are basically saying goodbye to each other."

The Free Syrian Army was gathering, saying "this is it - they are coming now", he said. "These are small towns, small villages, that [are] basically going to be attacked from probably the early hours of the morning, if not before."

What was happening in Baba Amr and other districts was about to happen to these areas, people felt.

1646 GMT: This video reportedly shows a large group of mourners gathered in a small side street of the El Waer district of Homs, despite the shelling. It's worth noting that this district has fared better than many others closer to the center of the city, but there are reports of shelling near the Petroleum Refinery, just to the southwest:

1625 GMT: The Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre is reporting that at least 70 people have been killed today:

Some shells have fallen next to Homs refinery. And military reinforcements - including dozens of tanks - were seen heading north to Homs this morning. Zabadani, Madaya, Tafas, Tasil are also under attack while Assad's forces are surrounding Palmyra and Sermin. Most of the military checkpoints in Hama have been removed and military forces are now deployed all around the city - we fear that regime is about to bombard Hama as well.

It's worth noting that we're not exactly sure where they get their numbers from. It's also worth noting that the LCCS is also reporting that Syrian security forces, including a large amount of tanks, have withdrawn from Hama and have moved to the outskirts of the city. While they are, perhaps, alarmist in their assessment that an attack is imminent, perhaps they have reason to be alarmed, because a similar pattern took place in Homs.

There is a twist, however. Back in the fall, when the LCCS reported that they believed an attack was imminent, there was no attack for several days. The media harped on the opposition, calling it alarmist, and rebranded much of their news as propaganda.

Several days after the media criticism, then first widespread attacks on Homs began.

1608 GMT: The Guardian has interviewed Fares Mohamad, a member of the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria who fears that, with 300 tanks reportedly on the outskirts of Zabadani, the key opposition stronghold is about to fall to the Syrian army:

Yesterday they fired cluster bombs. Seventy people have critical injuries and there are 18 martyrs so far.

More than 40 houses have been demolished because of the attack. More than 300 people have light injuries. We have set up a field hospital, in the basement of a house, but we don't have any medical equipment.

There are also many people who have gone missing.

More 1,200 families have left for Bloudan [to the east of Zabadani. We don't have any gas or fuel or communications. This is the only working telephone that we have in the town.

The Free Syrian Army are in Zabadani, but they can't stop the shelling. If you have mortars coming from tanks, what can you do? All they [the military defectors] have are light weapons. They can fight soldiers face-to-face, but they cannot fight tanks.

They are resisting but they don't have enough weapons to stop tanks.

The Syrian Army keeps attacking the town, but until now we don't know if they will control it, because the attack is still going on.

At the start of the assault the first targets were the fire station and the hospital. They didn't want the fire brigade to put out the fires or the hospital to treat the injured. They are now shelling residential districts.

James Miller takes the live coverage. Thank you to Scott Lucas for taking us through the morning and afternoon.

1535 GMT: Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri, dismissing a possible cut in US military aid, said his Government would "apply the law" and "not back down" over non-governmental organisations who have been raid and had staff detained.

Forty-three people, including 19 Americans, face trials over claims of setting up groups without licences and receiving illegal funding (see 0635 GMT).

1525 GMT: Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, has said that an eight-day hunger strike by Bahraini political prisoners and activists has ended.

Meanwhile, MPs have approved new laws to punish anyone who insults King Hamad, Bahrain's national flag, or the country's emblem.

Anyone convicted of the "insults" could face up to five years in jail or a fine of up to BD10,000 (about $26,5000) or both.

1425 GMT: Global Voices profiles Yemen's "One Man" Presidential contest, in which Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was unanimously nominated by Parliament as the only candidate for the 21 February vote.

A video encouraging Yemenis to vote:

1420 GMT: The Central Bank has posted that Egypt's net foreign reserves fell to $16.35 billion by the end of January 2012, down from $18.12 billion at the end of December.

Journalist Patrick Galey claims the situation is even more serious, "Intelligence sources told me that the true level of #Egypt's foreign reserves is 1/2 that claimed by the Central Bank."

1415 GMT: Syrian State TV is claiming that a car bomb in the Bayada sectio of Homs has killed and wounded a number of people.

1345 GMT: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, saying that Ankara "could not stand by and leave Syria to its own destiny", has called for an international conference in Turkey: "We cannot leave Syria to its destiny....We are determined to establish a broad-based forum to promote international understanding with all countries concerned."

Davutoğlu said that in recent days he had laid the groundwork for the meeting, discussing Syria with his opposite numbers in Italy, Iran, and Qatar.

Davutoğlu pushed aside talk of military intervention, "We don't want to discuss these scenarios. Our heart does not want to pass into this stage. Syria is getting isolated more. Many countries are withdrawing their ambassadors. We hope that Syria will see that it could be isolated even more than North Korea and will accept the Arab League's plan."

Davutoğlu is flying to the US for talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to discuss Syria with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev by telephone on Wednesday.

1335 GMT: Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari has fled the country after threats to his safety over a series of tweets he posted last week on the birthday of Prophet Mohammad. Kashgari's "crime" was to imagine a conversation with the Prophet in which he said they are equal. Kashgari also wrote that, although he admires many of the Prophet’s characteristics there are also others that he disliked.

Saudi users on Twitter posted nearly 30,000 tweets on the topic in less than 24 hours, with many accusing Kashgari of blasphemy, atheism and apostasy and saying he must be punished, even killed.

Kashgary deleted the tweets and published an apology, saying he has sinned and that he has now repented. However, critics demanded that Kashgari be tried in a Sharia court.

1325 GMT: The Inspector General of the Bahraini Ministry of Interior has dismissed the claims of Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Centre of Human Rights, that he was beaten as police charged a march in Manama on 6 January.

The report attached grainy photographs and the police's edited video to support its findings.

Raw footage of the police attack:

See also Bahrain Interview: Nabeel Rajab - How Police Attacked the Manama March and Beat Me

1245 GMT: A cross-section of visual snapshots of Homs in Syria today, first noting the dying moments of a man, as his son embraces him.

Showing bodies of the victims in a field hospital, Dr Muhammad Al-Muhammad makes a video appeal:

We can't do anything for them. We are treating them in homes. Look, a bullet in the head ....I call upon all the honest people of the world. I call upon Erdogan in Turkey. I call upon Emir Hamad of Qatar. I call upon King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. I call upon all the Muslims in the world to put pressure on Bashar, the monster. Put pressure on the Assad family..

I call upon the Red Cross and the Red Crescent to intervene. I call upon all humanitarian organisations. We now only have God to help us. We can't do anything for these martyrs.

Tanks on the road to Homs:

Danny Abdul Dayem points out the burning buildings in the Bab Amr section:

1215 GMT: Sheikh Fawaz Al-Khalifa, the head of Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority, has tried to explain the denial of visas to foreign journalists seeking to cover the first anniversary of the beginning of mass protests on 14 February (see 0600 GMT):

IAA received an unusually high volume of media visa requests for the period from February 11th–18th. Media that did not specify exact dates with their requests, or those who were late in applying, were asked to delay their visit. This is done to insure journalists’ safety & chances of securing interviews with key figures.

1152 GMT: Al Jazeera English first-hand testimony from a resident of Homs of the deaths --- more than 50 in four hours, he claims --- including the killing of entire families. Omar Shakir says, "We feel we are alone. No one cares about us."

Claimed video of the Syrian regime's armoured vehicles entering Bab Amr in Homs this morning:

1142 GMT: Sunni Islam's highest religious authority, Al-Azhar University, has urged Egyptians to ignore calls for a national campaign of civil disobedience on 11 February, the first anniversary of President Mubarak’s fall from power.

More than 50 political, workers and student groups in the Egypt Revolutionaries' Alliance have called for acts of civil disobedience --- including the non-payment of taxes and utility bills --- and a general strike, to force the immediate handover of power from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to a civilian administration.

Ismael Shaheen, deputy head of Al-Azhar, said the calls were against the national interest and unjustifiable: “Who will rule Egypt when the military council leaves? And can we guarantee that there will be a consensus over a temporary President, as some have suggested? As for speeding up the trials of former regime members, it is well known that you cannot have a fair trial under pressure.”

The Alliance has issued a list of seven demands in its campaign: the immediate dismantlement of the interim government; the immediate holding of Presidential elections; the formation of a committee to investigate all the massacres that have taken place in recent months; the formation of revolutionary tribunals to try members of the old regime; the dismissal of Egypt’s prosecutor-genera; and the restructuring of Egypt’s Ministry of Interior.

1042 GMT: As the Syrian regime continues its assault on Homs, Zabadani, and other towns and cities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that President Assad wants Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa to hold talks with opposition groups.

A day after meeting Assad in Damascus, Lavrov said, "On both sides there are people that aim at an armed confrontation, not a dialogue."

0953 GMT: The Washington Post publishes a sharp editorial on Bahrain this morning:

The transfer of any military aid [to Bahrain] now sends the wrong message, both to the Khalifa regime and to the region. U.S. criticism of Russia for continuing to arm the Assad regime will sound more credible when American military aid to Arab allies engaged in repression comes to a complete and unambiguous halt.

0950 GMT: Video has been posted of a report by Danny Abdul Dayem, standing by the body of a child who was killed by a head wound, from a field hospital in Bab Amr in Homs in Syria.

0930 GMT: Claimed video of shelling of Bab Amr in Homs this morning:

0920 GMT: A march in Ma'ameer in Bahrain on Tuesday, "We will return to Martyrs Square (Pearl Roundabout)":

A march in Sitra calls for King Hamad to stand trial for "crimes" against the people:

Clashes in Karzakan:

0830 GMT: In Bahrain, the opposition February 14 Coalition has put out a Charter stating its aims and objectives and the methods to achieve them. Included in the 10-point objectives are the overthrow of the Alkhalifa regime, "prosecut[ing] its heads and leaders for the crimes they committed against humanity and towards the people and the country", "the confirmation and emphasis on the people's right of self-determination", "the dismantling of the security establishments and restructuring them in a way that will protect the citizens and ensure their safety and security", and "forming an independent judiciary system that is not controlled by the Executive authorities".

The Charter sets out the following in its "Mechanisms":

The 14 February revolution is based on the peaceful Islamic values that interact with the events on the basis of a strong belief in the revolution's just cause, and applies the sacred defense principles --- the protection of honour, defying oppression, and repelling aggressors, based on the verse, "Whomever attacks you, attack him the same way he attacked you"(equivalent to an eye for an eye in the Bible)"...

[We will] reinforce the civil resistance that is based on popular mobilization such as Civil Disobedience and General Strikes.

0720 GMT: An activist, Mohammad Hassan, has claimed an escalation i bombardment of Homs by regime forces, "Electricity returned briefly and we were able to contact various neighborhoods because activists there managed to recharge their phones. We counted 47 killed since midnight."

Another activist, Hadi al-Abdallah said at least 43 people were killed overnight: “Homs woke up this morning on the sounds of shelling, blood and a massacre."

Abdallah said that the deaths occurred in the neighbourhoods of Bab Amr, Al Khalidiya, Wadi al-Arab, Karm el-Zaitoun, Waar and al-Sabeel: “Some areas are completely sieged. There is no internet, no landlines or mobile lines. We hear sounds of shelling but we have no idea what is going on there.”

The activist said there has been no retaliation by the armed opposition in Homs because the government forces are shelling from a distance of between two to seven kilometres.

In Zabadani, the mountain town less than 20 miles from Damascus recently claimed by the opposition, activist Ali Ibrahim said that the regime assault is in a seventh day: “Tens have so far been injured but transferring them to hospitals is impossible. Snipers are shooting at any moving body."

0635 GMT: Jim Lobe offers an overview of the growing conflict between Cairo and Washington over Egypt's crackdown on foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which has led to raids on 10 groups and the imminent trials of 40 staff, including 19 Americans.

The issue could threaten $1.3 billion in US military aid each year to Egypt.

0615 GMT: Tuesday's diplomatic show in Syria was the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, greeted by hundreds of regime supporters waving Syrian and Russian flags.

Little emerged from his meeting with President Assad, with Lavrov putting out the holding line that Assad was "fully committed" to ending violence. Lavrov stated, "We [Russia] confirmed our readiness to act for a rapid solution to the crisis based on the plan put forward by the Arab League," a curious assertion given that Moscow has just vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution based on the Arab League initiative.

As Lavrov spoke, a series of countries --- the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Spain --- were pulling their diplomats out of the arena, closing their Embassies. They followed the US, Britain, and Belgium, who left on Monday.

Another 35 people were killed on Tuesday, according to activists --- 19 in Homs, 10 in Madaya in the Damascus suburbs, two in Idlib, two in Daraa, and two in Aleppo.

Regime forces fire on protesters in as-Suwayda in Syria on Tuesday:

0600 GMT: We start in Bahrain, where the regime is trying, rather bluntly, to limit attention to the first anniversary of the mass protests on 14 February. 

On Tuesday, it emerged that a series of foreign journalists had been denied visas to enter the country. Among those blocked were the correspodents of AFP, Kristen Chick of The Christian Science Monitor --- who engaged in a futile exchange with Saqer Alkhalifa, recently returned from duty as Bahrain's Media Attache in Washington --- Cara Swift of the BBC, Gregg Carlstrom of Al Jazeera English, Nick Kristof of The New York Times, and Alex Delmar-Morgan of Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. 

Delmar-Morgan posted the message the rejected jouralists were given:

Unfortunately due to the high volume of applications we will not be able to grant your visa for the specified dates, but we would like you to come and at the end of Feb when we'll be celebrating the the implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report.