Syria Live: "Terrorists Eliminated by Army Operations"

One of State news agency SANA's standard photographs of soldiers "eliminating terrorists"

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Friday's Syria Live: UN Security Council Condemns Violence by Both Sides

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1805 GMT: Aid to Insurgents

US officials have said that Secretary of State John Kerry offered a package of up to $130 million in aid to insurgents at today's Friends of Syria meeting (see 1045 GMT).

The officials said the aid could include body armor, armored vehicles, night vision goggles, and advanced communications equipment.

Earlier this year at a Friends of Syria gathering, in the first US commitment of non-lethal aid, Kerry offered $60 million.

1625 GMT: Insurgents Fighting Tribesmen Over Oil

Reuters, quoting a "fighter", reports that Islamist insurgents are clashing with tribesmen in eastern Syria amid struggles over the region's oil facilities.

A dispute over a stolen oil truck in the town of Masrib in Deir Ez Zor, set off a battle between tribesmen and fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra Front.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed 37 people had been killed in the fighting, which started in late March and lasted 10 days. The fighter said that Jabhat al-Nusra blew up 30 houses after 17 of their members were killed.

Inusrgents and local tribes in the province have accused each other of stealing oil from fields.

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1545 GMT: Refugees

Ten Jordanian policemen were injured --- two seriously --- in clashes at a Syrian refugee camp in near the Syrian border in the north of the country, according to Jordanian security sources.

More than 160,000 Syrian refugees --- out of about 500,000 who have fled to Jordan --- live in the Za'atari refugee camp. Amman has expressed concerns that the Syrian conflict is a threat to its national security.

(Cross-posted from Iraq and Beyond Live Coverage)

1045 GMT: Friends of Syria

The international Friends of Syria group is meeting in Istanbul today to discuss support to the opposition and insurgency.

The 11-nation core group --- including the US, European nations, Turkey, and Arab countries -- will hold talks with key figures in the opposition.

Opposition leaders are seeking greater commitment from the foreign group to protection of insurgent-held areas and arms supplies.

Speaking to US lawmakers this week, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the talks would be an effort to "get everybody on the same page," but also voiced caution.

"We're trying to proceed carefully, to make sure that we're not contributing to a worse mess, but that we're actually finding a constructive path forward," Kerry said.

A senior US official said late Friday that Kerry would propose boosting Washington's non-lethal aid to the insurgents and "moderate opposition groups" at the Istanbul meeting.

0530 GMT: Regime Line and Casualties

I begin with State news agency SANA's headline this morning --- and indeed almost every morning --- "Terrorists Eliminated in Several Army Operations": "Units of the armed forces on Friday killed and wounded terrorists and destroyed their equipment in several areas in Adra and its surrounding in Damascus countryside"

The ritual list of operations includes attacks on insurgents in and near mosques in the Damascus suburb of Darayya.

The Local Coordination Committees claim 138 people were killed on Friday, including 17 women and 26 children. Of the deaths, 56 were in Damascus and its suburbs, 26 were in Homs Province, and 21 each in Idlib and Aleppo Provinces.

The Violations Documentation Center reports 57,408 people killed since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, an increase of 174 from Friday.

Of the dead, 45,415 are civilians, a rise of 123 from yesterday.