Saleh el Dine (map) is in southwestern Aleppo, on the opposite side from today's heaviest fighting, an area where the largest protests have been, and an area that is not far from the Assad Military Academy and artillery bases south of the city:
1858 GMT:Syria. Last week, during the initial wave of fighting in Damascus, a large group of Assad's soldiers reportedly defected and joined the Free Syrian Army in Qaboun, a strategic suburb in northeast of Damascus (map). The defection turned the tide for the neighborhood, but by the weekend the FSA had withdrawn from the area, taking the fresh equipment and fighters with them in order to fight another day.
Zilal, who has many contacts in Damascus, tells us that the regime has retaliated against the civilians, looting homes and businesses, and destroying as many as 20 buildings. She also shares with us this video, taken today, of the International Red Crescent building in the area. The regime has held control of the area for days, so activists are saying that this damage could only be the result of the work of regime forces or loyalists:
The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 111 so far, among them 25 bodies found in Barzeh and 12 unidentified bodies, which had been tortured and burned, in Mouadamyet Al-Sham. 50 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs, 20 in Daraa, 14 in Aleppo, 7 in Homs, 7 in Deir Ezzor, 6 in Hama, 5 in Idlib, 1 in Latakia and 1 in Raqqa.
1750 GMT:Syria. Time for a quick check of the headlines from Damascus --- the CFDPC, a network of activists who cover Damascus and the surrounding areas, post this report:
Signs of destruction in a house in the Mashrouh area of Barzeh in Damascus (map) after it was hit by a tank shell; electricity and water were cut off 5 days ago and tanks shell the area everyday.
The big news, however, is Mezzeh. The area, just west of the center of Assad's power (map), has been heavily shelled today, and regime troops have reportedly entered the area. Al Jazeera posts this report, along with an unverified video claiming to show bodies, via the Revolutionary Leadership Council of Damascus:
"A horrifying massacre against humanity was perpetrated today in Mazzeh No one can imagine that such crimes, full of hatred and rancor, can be committed in our time. What happened today is that many civilians were brutally killed by regime forces, they underwent summary execution. All bodies bear signs of torture, most of them received at least eight bullets, some of them particularly in the eyes, some of them were killed then run over by cars."
A second video reportedly shows widespread destruction in the area. It has also been shared by one of our contacts, Zilal, who is watching Damascus very closely:
1706 GMT:Syria/Lebanon.Al Jazeera offers up a story that is a testament to how chaotic Syria has become, as well as how weak the Assad regime is in its current state:
Michel Sleiman, the Lebanese president has delivered "a letter of protest" to Ali Abdel-Karim Ali, the Syrian ambassador to the neighbouring country after violations of the two nations' shared border over the weekend.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from the Lebanese capital says Sleiman's protest shows "growing concern in Lebanon" that the tensions in Syria may spill over across the sharted porous border.
Our correspondent said Sleiman's protest shows "how weak the Syrian government has become in the eyes of the people neighbouring countries", particularly because the Lebanese president had not protested the measures taken by the Assad government until this point.
1605 GMT:Syria. The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria now report that 82 people have been killed today, including 20 people, reportedly arrested yesterday, whose bodies have been found in Barzeh and 12 unidentified bodies found in the Mouadamieh district, two important sections of Damascus. The geographical breakdown of the dead is as follows:
44 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs, 11 in Daraa, 10 in Aleppo, 5 in Homs, 4 in Deir Ezzor, 4 in Idlib, 2 in Hama, 1 in Lattakia and 1 in Raqqa.
Despite the rising violence in Aleppo, most of the deaths are in Damascus, where the fighting is far more intense than government reports suggest.
There is another story, however, that has gone under-reported by both EA and the larger media for the past week or so - the fighting in Daraa province. Daraa, south of Damascus, is the location where the revolution started, but because of its proximity to Damascus, Jordan, the Golan Heights, and Lebanon, it is an area that the government has continuously suppressed since the start. The military appears determined to ensure that the Free Syrian Army do not gain a foothold here, a location that, if it fell to insurgent hands, would put Damascus in a pincer and would open yet another front in this civil war.
Despite the lack of insurgent gains in Daraa, the ongoing action there is noteworthy in that it requires huge amounts of the governments resources. In a far less calculating analysis, however, Daraa has paid dearly for its support of the opposition. Many lives have been lost, and the lives of the survivors is more desperate by the day.
1515 GMT:Syria. National Public Radio (NPR) has a reported in northern Syria, in the town of AlTima (map), west of Aleppo and on the border with Turkey. She has been talking with the townspeople about several topics - including the FSA's offensives, and the possibility of more support from the US and its allies.
This town, like so many in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, is completely controlled by insurgents. Protected by the town's remote location, fighting elsewhere, and the shadow of Turkey's weapons just across the border, the town illustrates the reason why the FSA has won there and is now on the march.
But this conflict is likely far from over, and as some residents reflect, many are hoping that the US will intervene and push this teetering regime over:
You can't send troops, you can't enforce a no-fly zone, they say. We know that. But why not send more weapons? The rifles and rocket-propelled grenades we're getting from Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar are not enough, they say. Why not help us coordinate our operations, like NATO advisers did in Libya?
One resident later tells me he has seen two undercover Americans passed through here. He says one gave the rebels a couple of high-end sniper rifles. The other was interested in the types of helicopters used by the Syrian regime.