Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Spread of the Deaths

A rally in Homs in Syria last night

See also Oman Feature: A Not-Quite-So-Quiet Arab State
Thursday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: "Did This Rocket Fall from Outer Space?"

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0150 GMT: The Bahraini Ministry of Interior is now trying to explain how its policemen were not responsible for the attack on the house and car of the head of the Al-Wefaq opposition party, Sheikh Ali Salman, blaming protesters while shifting attention from authorities:. Here's the lengthy statement in full from the Ministry of Interior's website: 

The General Director of Northern Governorate Police has announced that at around 10:55 PM on Thursday around 60 individuals went into illegal procession in Bilad Al Qadeem with the aim to block roads and hinder traffic flow. They were also involved in vandalism, rioting and hurling Molotov cocktails and stones at policemen. This led to the interference of police forces to disperse them and reopen the roads by shooting tear gas and sound shoots. 

In regard of what was circulated by some individuals through social media websites claiming that the house and car of the General Secretary of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society were damaged by policemen, the General Director explained that vandals were 50 meters away from the house and there was a distance of around 50 meters between vandals and policemen, hence they were around 100 meters away from the house. Policemen used teargas and sound shoots and both are hurled by hand, so it is difficult for them to reach to the house and the car that was next to it. The shell...that was found inside the car is a [shell] that is hurled by the hand as it is shown in the image. 

He added that the concerned team moved to the scene, while no complaint was reported by those affected by the incident and that explains that those who created the damages bear the responsibility of what they did.

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Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Who Killed Abdel Fattah Younes?

1555 GMT: Insurgent claim they have surrounded Tiji, the last stronghold of regime forces in the western mountains of Libya.

An estimated 500 regime troops are stationed in Tiji. The blasts of gunfire and shelling by tanks could be heard from the nearby town of Hawamid, taken by the opposition on Thursday as it moved through the mountains, claiming several towns and villages.

1550 GMT: A Syrian army colonel has allegedly said that he has defected with "hundreds" of soldiers and has warned the regime against launching a crackdown on the eastern city of Deir Ez Zor. The man, identifying himself as Colonel Riad al-Asaad, said in a telephone call to AFP that he was speaking from inside Syria "near the Turkish border".

Al-Assad delcared, "I warn the Syrian authorities that I will send my troops to fight with the (regular) army if they do not stop the operations in Deir ez-Zor."

Earlier the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said soldiers shot dead three stone-throwers as a convoy of 60 military vehicles made its way towards Deir Ez Zor.

1350 GMT: A series of videos of the actions of security forces on Friday....

Near Daraa in the south, a man is apparently hit by gunfire from Syrian troops --- others in the group pull him away and put him on a motorcycle:

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Syria, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Defiance and "Reforms"

1620 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration in Homs in Syria today:

See also Syria Video Special: The Latest from Friday's Protests

1510 GMT: Bahrain's Minister of Justice has said it has "taken the necessary legal procedures in order to lift the ban" on the Wa'ad Party after the opposition group "expressed keenness to promote security, stability, and national unity and take part in the comprehensive National Consensus Dialogue due to start on July 1".

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Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Blaming Al Qa'eda, Killing the Protesters

2020 GMT: A series of claimed videos to close the evening:

A march following two funerals in the Souq al Jomaa district of Tripoli in Libya:

A candlelit march in Sanabis in Bahrain:

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Yemen, Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Battle in the Capital...Expanded

2145 GMT: The Egyptian regime has appointed former Assistant Foreign Minister Hani Khalaf as the special envoy to the Libyan opposition in Benghazi.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Araby said the decision follwed Egypt's determination to follow up on developments in Libya and ensure the safety and rights of Egyptian citizens in the country.

2140 GMT: Claimed video of a protest in Daraa in southern Syria today:

2130 GMT: Fighting continues tonight in Yemen's capital Sana'a, in the Hasaba neighbourhood and near the airport.

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Libya: Opposition Minister of Finance "We Have Only 1000 Trained Fighters" (Fahim)

Photo: Scott NelsonUPDATE 0815 GMT: Opposition spokesman Mustafa Gheriani, a former construction worker, has told the BBC that there are 17,000 insurgents in the field, but most of them are not proper soldiers. Many are civilians, such as music teachers, pastry cooks and accountants. Replying to the suggestion that the fighters are chaotic, Gheriani says, "That's not fair. A learning curve is taking place right now."
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After the uprising, the rebels stumbled as they tried to organize. They did a poor job of defining themselves when Libyans and the outside world tried to figure out what they stood for. And now, as they try to defeat Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s armed forces and militias, they will have to rely on allied airstrikes and young men with guns because the army that rebel military leaders bragged about consists of only about 1,000 trained men.

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