Bahrain Feature: "Collective Punishment" on Al-Eker Village After Policeman Killed

Claimed footage from Bahrain State TV of Thursday night's explosion --- circled in red about two minutes into the video --- which killed one policeman and injured another

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It has been another tense day in the Kingdom.

Al-Eker village has been under a state of near-siege since late Thursday night after a policeman died there. Throughout Friday, there were reports of house raids, arrests and violence by security forces --- including shooting into properties --- while human rights defenders were prevented from entering Al-Eker by police. Today, citizens are reportedly still being prevented from entering or leaving the village.

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Iran Propaganda Feature: Fars News Makes Up Interview with "Bahrain Opposition Leader"

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On Saturday, Fars News featured an interview with a "Sheikh Sadiq Kadhim Al-Jamri", a Bahraini who extolled the Islamic Republic as a model for Muslims in the Middle East. Al-Jamri said that it was the late Ayatollah Khomeini who had first inspired the "Arab Awakening" with the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which had "brought revolutions to Muslims from Tunisia to Egypt and Libya to Yemen and Bahrain ".

But who is Sheikh Sadiq Kadhim Al-Jamri?

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Shelling Returns to Damascus

Protest near the Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus on Thursday night, after it had been shelled during the day by regime forces

Thursday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The "New Normal" --- Death From the Air

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2035 GMT: Bahrain. The Minister of Interior has posted its explanation for the police confrontation of protests today.

The Ministry said the request of the opposition society Al Wefaq to march through the capital Manama had been denied because "the proposed route would have caused major traffic delays and negatively affected businesses in the major business corridor". Al Wefaq had defied this with public statements over social media that called for participation: "as a result, various people gathered at the meeting place and engaged in the blocking of roads, vandalism, and the spreading of fear among the business owners in the area".

The Ministry asserted that "special security forces...used legal, necessary force to disperse the vandals", with six arrests.

The Ministry concluded that it was filing a case against Al Wefaq to be referred to the public prosecution.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 10,000s March Outside Manama

Friday's mass march in Bahrain

See also Syria 1st-Hand: A Wanted Activist Restarts His Work from Washington
Will Israel Attack Iran? --- Daniella Peled and Scott Lucas on Monocle 24
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Insurgents Seize the Initiative

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2201 GMT: Syria. AFP reports on prisoners released today by the regime:

As they emerged from police headquarters in the Syrian capital on Saturday, several of the prisoners being set free had nothing on but their underwear, many were barefoot, and others had their heads shaven.

The backs of some still bore the tell-tale marks of beatings, while others had swollen limbs. Many had been missing for weeks or even months.

Civil servant Basil, 31, told AFP he had been on his way home with his wife and son to Zamalka, a rebel-held town northeast of Damascus, when the security forces arrested him because his ID card was broken....

Before they were freed from a stench-filled room in the police headquarters -- the detainees had been unable to wash ever since they were thrown into jail -- the men being released were made to fill out and sign a form.

"I declare that I was set free from police headquarters in Damascus on September 1, that I regret my action, and that I pledge not to take part in any more unauthorised demonstrations," the declaration stated.

Across the country, a total of 267 were released on Saturday, the authorities said. Of that number, 158 were set free from the Damascus police HQ.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Surge in Protest, A Constant Shelling

Saturday's funeral march for Hussam Alhadad in Bahrain

See also Bahrain Special: The Killing of Hussam AlHaddad and the Unanswered Questions
Bahrain Interview: Activist Said Yousif on His Beating and Detention
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "This is What Aleppo Has Become"

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2020 GMT: Syria. The most interesting reports from the LCC today involve Lattakia, Syria's premier port city which is often considered the heart of Assad's power and from where the President's family hails. The city is majority Sunni, with a sizable population of Alawites, Christians, and other minorities, and the rural areas are even more diverse.

We have seen protests and violence in the mountains far to the east, but it has been a long time since there has been this much violence in the city itself. According to some activists, there were post-prayer protests today, disrupted by security forces. According to the LCC, the Qunainis district (map), in the centre of the city, was stormed by security forces who sealed off the neighborhood and made many arrests.

The LCC also reports violence in the Maroniate village to the east (map). The village was reportedly shelled, and this video claims to show damage to the local mosque:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A No-Fly Zone?

1924 GMT: Syria. According to the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria, 100 people have been killed today by regime forces:

56 were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs; 17 in Homs; 14 in Daraa; 7 in Deir Ezzor (6 of them were martyred yesterday and their bodies were discovered today); 3 in Idlib; 2 in Hama; and 1 in Lattakia.

That number does not differentiate between civilians and insurgents, and does not include regime casualties. Syrian State media has also stopped reporting number of security forces killed in this conflict.

1900 GMT: Syria. This afternoon there are reports of unusually high levels of regime shelling in Daraa province. So far, there are reliable reports from Busra al Sham to the east of Daraa, (map), Al Harak to the north east (map), Tafas to the north (map, see update below), and perhaps most interesting Ghabagheb, between Daraa and Damascus (map). Furthermore, the LCC reports extremely intense shelling in Darayya, a town southwest of Damascus on the road to Daraa (map). As is probably obvious from looking at these locations, nearly the entire road from Daraa to Darayya is reportedly being shelled. As we see from the reports from Tafas (below), that may not be a coincidence, but may be a response to the Free Syrian Army being increasingly active.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Insurgents Hold Out in Aleppo

A demonstration last night in Nile Street in Aleppo in Syria

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1944 GMT: Syria. Yesterday we posted reports that Kafranbel, a town in Idlib made famous for its witty protest signs made in English, was under heavy attack by regime forces (map). At the end of the day, there was little news beyond the report that many shells had fallen and many civilians were injured.

Previous regime incursions into Idlib have ended very poorly, with many destroyed tanks, killed soldiers, and even with large amounts of defectors and armored vehicles falling into the hands of the Free Syrian Army. From the looks of this fight, it appeared different, as if the military were focusing on shelling the city from afar, and were committing far more forces to the fight than before.

However, history repeats itself. News broke today that the FSA had inflicted heavy losses yesterday. One video claimed to show that the FSA had destroyed an armored vehicle and a hospital that had been occupied by the military. Those victories were only the tip of the iceberg. Many videos are emerging, each matching a series of separate activist reports, that show a large amount of destroyed military equipment after heavy battles today:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Is Aleppo "A Nail in Assad's Coffin"?

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Sunday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Inside and Outside Aleppo

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1921 GMT: Syria. The Guardian has a pair of stories on the growing role of jihadists in the conflict. Martin Chulov, drawing from residents and a Turkish smuggler, reports on the growing number of foreigners crossing into Syria from Turkey in the past two weeks, some saying that they are planning to travel to Aleppo to join the battle.

Many of the men reportedly come from the Caucasus, while others have arrived from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Gulf Arab states.

Insurgent leaders say about 15-20 foreign fighters have been crossing each day since mid-July, trying to join up with an estimated 200-300 foreigners already in the country.

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad speaks to Syrian fighters who claim connections with Al Qa'eda and car bombings.

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Bahrain Feature: Pushing A Deal with the Crown Prince (Delmar Morgan)

Crown Prince Salman with Al Wefaq's Sheikh Ali Salman (Mazen Mahdi/The National)Ever since the start of the mass protests in February 2011, the US Government's hope has been that the opposition could reach a deal with the regime, notably through the "moderate" Crown Prince Salman, over "reform".

That hope was dashed in March 2011 with the regime crackdown, backed by a Saudi-led military force, on the demonstrations and the subsequent polarisation of support and opposition to the monarchy and the Government. However, after the publication of the Bahraini Independent Commission of Inquiry's report in November, with its call for significant change, Washington returned to the strategy.

There have some discussions between the regime "moderates" and representatives of the largest opposition society Al Wefaq this year. These have been halting in any progress, but Alex Delmar Morgan, US officials, and an Al Wefaq member try to give the initiative a boost in The Wall Street Journal....

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Story is Beyond Damascus

Mural on a wall in Aleppo, Syria: "Revolution is A Female"

See also Syria Audio Feature: "Assad May Be Slipping from Power" --- Scott Lucas with the BBC
Syria Revealed: The Quiet Planning for a Country After Assad
Sudan Feature: Can Activists Maintain Hope Amid Waning Protests?
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 217 Die Amid Question, "Where's Bashar?"

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2113 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria claims that 131 people, including 18 defectors and 11 children, have been killed by security forces today.

2051 GMT: Syria. A large anti-regime demonstration tonight in central Aleppo:

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