Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: How Long Can This Go On?

A rally in Bahrain calls for the hanging of detainees who allegedly killed policemen in March 2011 (see 1039 GMT)

See also Bahrain Video Feature: The Second "Manama March" and the Police Response
Morocco Feature: Will a Rapper's Release Be the Catalyst for More Protests?
Syria Opinion: The Assad Regime Cannot End this Crisis
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Attack in Homs

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2127 GMT: Reuters has more on the attack by Syrian troops, backed by tanks, on Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon.

"Communications have been cut but we managed to get through to several people. Tanks are bombarding the town and have entered the outskirts, but they are being met with resistance. The Free Syrian Army (army defectors) has strong presence in the area," Kamal al-Labwani, a senior opposition figure from Zabadani who fled to Jordan two weeks ago, said.

Al-Labwani continued, "The people of Zabadani have taken up arms to protect themselves and I am afraid we could see lots of casualties. At least 50 tanks are involved in the attack and explosions are already being heard in residential areas."

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Bahrain Video Feature: The Second "Manama March" and the Police Response

In dramatic scenes last week, Bahraini police attacked a march in the capital Manama with tear gas and beating partcipants, including leading activist Nabeel Rajab.

Rajab promised after the incident that there would be another march, and so it proved last night as hundreds of people gathered in the location of last week's clash. Again the police asked Rajab to disperse the demonstrators. Again he refused. Again the security forces attacked with tear gas and flash grenades.

Activists' montage of the events, beginning with the prominence of the horn-backed slogan, "Down Down [King] Hamad" and continuing with the showdown with the police:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Attack in Homs

Gunfire and explosions in Homs as defectors defend the city against the army

See Also, Morocco Analysis: Where are the Women in the New Government?
Afghanistan Video: Controversial Footage of US Marines Urinating on Bodies of Insurgents
EA Video Feature: A Tribute to Journalist Gilles Jacquier, Killed Today in Syria

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2103 GMT: A large protest in Idlib in Syria tonight:

And a mass rally in Khalidiya in Homs chants to the Arab League Secretary General "Nabil El Araby is a traitor":

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Bahrain Feature: #StolenByMOI --- Bahrainis Tell the World "This is What Has Been Taken From Us"

See also Bahrain Opinion: An Open Letter to Journalists "Get The Story Right"

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Yesterday, whilst searching Twitter for news from Bahrain, I discovered the hashtag campaign #StolenByMOI

Scores of Bahraini citizens were sending out poignant messages to the world about what had been stolen from them by the Ministry of Interior (MOI). For many, this was an opportunity to document specific crimes. For others, more personal, emotional messages were sent. I spent a long time reading the tweets, each offering a glimpse into the sadness, anger, and fear, but also the humour and hope. Brought together, they are a collective call for little more than a better life.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: An Inconvenient Beating, An Inconclusive Meeting

2205 GMT: That last update appears to be even more significant than we originally thought. First of all, an opposition Facebook page says that there were clashes between anti-government protesters and Bahraini police yesterday in the village of Al Dair. Apparently, there was another protest in Al Dair tonight (see a photo gallery posted by activists).

But the significant piece of evidence is this video, which shows a crowd being attacked by plain-clothed men. The attackers then appear to grab a young boy and drag him away. Towards the end of the video, a white van, which appears to be similar to one used by police, appears in the frame, suggesting that the plain-clothed men are the same as the ones in the last video and are working with the police. At the very end of the video, a policeman appears and fires teargas towards the now-scattered crowd, confirming this suspicion:

A daytime rally, reportedly today in Al Dair village:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Watching an Explosion

Footage of the moment a bomb exploded in Damascus on Friday

See also Bahrain Interview: Nabeel Rajab - How Police Attacked the Manama March and Beat Me
Bahrain Feature: Dar Kulaib --- The Regime's "Sectarian" Tactics and A Village Under Assault
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Starting 2012 With a Bang

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2110 GMT: Richard Sollom, Deputy President of the U.S.-based Physicians for Human Rights, has been denied entry into Bahrain despite the regime's pledge of transparency over its legal and political procedures.

Sollom, an American citizen, intended to observe Monday's hearing in civilian court in the case of 20 doctors and nurses who have been given prison sentences of 5 to 15 years by a military tribunal.

2010 GMT: Protesters march in Sitra in Bahrain today, chanting, "We have a right to defend ourselves" --- police subsequently fired tear gas at a group of demonstrators on the main highway:

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Bahrain Feature: Dar Kulaib --- The Regime's "Sectarian" Tactics and A Village Under Assault

See also Bahrain Interview: Nabeel Rajab - How Police Attacked the Manama March and Beat Me

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In the last month, I have seen several reports and images of violence in Bahrain that I dismissed as "minor", in relation to other news and pictures. These reports included smashed windows of cars, graffiti daubed on neighbourhood walls, and vandalism to the outside of homes.

I was wrong to set aside these items. I was blind to the significance that they all came from a single, somewhat isolated, village in the south of the country: Dar Kulaib.

I failed to recognise the signs of a continued campaign of harassment. I missed indications that the attacks on Dar Kulaib mya be a strategic attempt by the regime to provoke retaliatory violence, re-framing the opposition movement for democratic reform as a faction advocating sectarian conflict --- a re-framing the regime has repeatedly sought, and failed, to achieve since February.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Starting 2012 With a Bang

Bahraini police, after speaking to activist Nabeel Rajab, attack the protest march in Manama on Friday night

See also Syria Video: Amidst the Violence, A #SecurityFail Comedy Moment
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Calling for International Intervention?

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1930 GMT: Security camera footage showing the moment of yesterday's blast in Damascus has been obtained by the Al Alam News Network (and uploaded to YouTube via a third party). The commentators note that the explosion can be seen under the highway overpass, next to a car belonging to the security forces. See our liveblog yesterday for a map pinpointing the exact location of the blast.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond): Calling for International Intervention?

Scene of the explosion in Midan in the Syrian capital Damascus today

See also Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country - Set1 and Set 2

Bahrain Analysis: Will 2012 Be Like 2011?
Syria and Bahrain Analysis: Evaluating The Protests and the Crackdowns --- Will New History Be Made?
Thursday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Message to President Obama

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2310 GMT: Nabeel Rajab is home. He tweets of his experience:

It was minimum cost for freedom and justice - 9umoood [Resistance!]

Disturbingly, Nabeel also confirms earlier reports that his "family and house were attacked by teargas" whilst he was in hospital.

2240 GMT: Nabeel Rajab is out of hospital. Zainab Alkhawaja has uploaded this picture showing him as he walks out of Salmaniya hospital:

She quotes Nabeel as saying: ""The most important thing, is we don't give up. That's why next week we'll do the same as 2day"

Said Yousif Almuhafda, who was also injured after security forces attacked, came to visit Nabeel in the hospital. Zainab reports that he was threatened by police when he got there. Zainab later uploaded this photo of the two human rights campaigners which she captioned: "Two heroes after a rough day".

2105 GMT: This video shows Nabeel Rajab speaking to a police officer. As the officer withdraws, the crowd begins to chant, and then the video decays into gunfire and chaos:

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Bahrain Analysis: Will 2012 Be Just Like 2011? (Gengler)

An opposition rally in Sitra in Bahrain on 5 January --- the crowd chants, "Down Down [King] Hamad"

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As Bahrain approaches the one-year anniversary of the February uprising, neither the formal opposition in al-Wifaq et al., nor the youth-dominated street movement, shows signs of losing interest in pursuing fundamental political change. Indeed, February 14, 2012, will carry more symbolism even than the same date in 2011, as it marks simultaneously the one-year anniversary of mass protests as well as the ten-year anniversary of Bahrain's 2002 Constitution, promulgated unilaterally by King Hamad and, for protesters, symptomatic of the latter's aborted political reform project promised at the outset of his ascension.

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