Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: On "Quiet" Sunday, 78 People Are Killed

2240 GMT: Syria. The LCC has posted an EXTREMELY GRAPHIC video, reportedly showing 13 bodies "massacred," shot in the head in Bahdalieh, a suburb south of Damascus (map).

We cannot verify the video, except to say that, with graphic closeups of the brains shot over the pavement, it looks real. The hands of the bodies appear to be bound, and all the bodies (men) were wearing civilian clothing. At one point a man holds a sign that reads today's date.

The only problem - a different video, which sounds like it was taken by teenagers, was posted two days ago, and shows only five bodies. Here is the description:

GRAPHIC - Five more Syrian Sunni Arab victims of Assad's reign of terror in Damascus: Al-Bahdalieh, Nov 17th, '12 (Graphic)

Five males are found on waste ground in Al-Bahdalieh, having been stopped by an Alawite gang.

There are commonalities between the two videos. The video shot on the 17th appears to show the men to the far left of the frame (note the shirt colors and the red bag near the bodies - at the 23 second mark in the liveleaks video and the 51 second mark of the Youtube video). The Youtube video explains that the 8 new bodies (on the right) were in addition to the ones on the left, which were old:

Published on Nov 19, 2012 - Eight bodies were executed on the ground by firing squad in the Bahdalieh added to a group of bodies that are found almost daily in the region...

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Deadly Clash Between Insurgents in Aleppo

Claimed video of the Free Syrian Army firing on a Kurdish rally in the Ashrafieh section of Aleppo

See also Iraq Feature: How Kurdistan and Exxon Mobil Out-Manoeuvred Baghdad Over Oil
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A "Ceasefire" With Fighting, Car Bombs, and 103 Dead

---

2116 GMT: Syria. Insurgents capture an armoured BMP vehicle and ---eventually --- drive it away:

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Another Siege of Homs

2104 GMT: Syria. Parallel to the fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the regime is the relentless campaign of gunfire, shelling, and bombing that the citizens of Syria are subjected to on a daily basis by Assad forces. 140 people were killed today, according to the latest tally by the LCC, but that number will almost assuredly rise, as intense violence is reported in southern Damascus, and elsewhere across the country:

61 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs, including 25 unidentified martyrs found between Daraya and Qadam and 10 martyrs slaughtered by knives in Deir Asafeer; 24 in Aleppo; 14 in Deir Ezzor; 13 in Homs, 11 in Idlib; 10 martyrs in Hama; 5 martyrs in Daraa; and 2 martyrs in Lattakia.

But it's not all death in Syria. This video reportedly shows a large anti-government protest tonight in Almouda, Hasakeh governorate:

2056 GMT: Syria. How significant was the FSA victory in Ma'arrat al Nouman? Significant enough that they held a victory parade with their newly captured Syrian Army vehicles:

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: And So Another Week of Killing....

2100 GMT: Syria. Meanwhile, the daily death toll is Syria has reached at least 164, according to the Local Coordination Committees:

52 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs (including 13 in Douma and 10 in Harasta), 42 in Idlib (30 of them were martyred in a massacre in Seqlein), 41 in Aleppo (including 11 martyrs in Masaken Hanano, and 12 in Karm Al-Jabal), 20 in Daraa, 4 in Homs, 2 in Deir Ezzor, 2 in Hama and 1 in Lattakia.

See our note on the casualty figures put forth by the LCC.

2025 GMT: Syria. The newest information:

Now we know a little more about this video. It was originally posted on September 26th, but it was posted under a different description. The old description was "the American Journalist الصحفي الاميركي" but the new one is "Austin Tice still alive":

It was discovered on the 26th by an opposition Facebook page, but was shared without comment as to who is responsible for the kidnapping:

Click to read more ...