Iraq (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protests Close Border with Jordan

See also Syria Live Coverage: A Mass Killing in Idlib Province?
Tuesday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Regime Shuts Away Its Political Prisoners

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Protest in Anbar Province Last Week1925 GMT: Libya. Four people have been killed, in clashes between Toubou tribesmen and a brigade linked to the Libyan army, in the southern town of Kufra.

A military spokesman claimed the Shield Libya brigade intervened "to prevent student casualties" after a skirmish between Toubou and Zwai tribesmen escalated inside Kufra University.

Local authorities ordered that the university, which is in a Toubou area, shut for two days until order is restored.

A tribal chief called on "the army to secure Kufra, and not a group of civilian revolutionaries who have no military principles".

Kufra, a town of about 40,000 people, is located in a triangle where the borders of Egypt, Chad. and Sudan meet. Fighting last February claimed more than 130 lives and displaced half the population. Last June, 47 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

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Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Regime Shuts Away Its Political Prisoners

See also Syria Live Coverage: Has the Insurgent Advance Stalled?

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1900 GMT: Bahrain. The European Union has reacted to the regime's re-assertion of long prison sentences on 13 political prisoners with a call for their release. Spokesman Michael Mann said, "The EU has repeatedly asked the Bahraini authorities to consider an amnesty for all those arrested last year and tried on charges relating to the expression of their political opinion."

Mann said the European Union "fully respects the independence of the Bahraini judiciary" but "remains concerned about the lack of advancement of national reconciliation". He continued, "All sides should engage in a peaceful, inclusive and constructive dialogue, abstaining from all forms of violence and intimidation."

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Remains Defiant

2232 GMT: Syria. Brigadier General Salim Idris talks to Al Jazeera English, saying that his forces need more ammunition and weapons to fight Assad. Idris also says that special rebel units are working to protect and monitor chemical stockpiles.

2149 GMT: Bahrain British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt has criticised the Court of Cassation's decision to uphold the sentences against the 13 leading Bahrain activists and politicians. In a statement, Burt said:

At the time these individuals were sentenced, reports which were acknowledged by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry suggested that some had been abused in detention, denied access to legal counsel and were coerced into confessing.

I call on the government of Bahrain to meet all its human rights obligations and guarantee its citizens the fundamental liberties to which they are entitled.

I am deeply dismayed at the decision.

2006 GMT: Libya. In order to establish law and order and find a place for many former soldiers, over 6000 militiamen have been trained to be police, according to the new Interior Minister Ashour Shuail:

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Bahrain Audio Feature: Why the Detention of Photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan Matters --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

See also Bahrain Photo Special: The Life, Work, and Detention of Photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan

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I spoke with Monocle 24's The Briefing on Thursday about last week's abduction of award-winning photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan by 15 plainclothes agents and his detention, now in Dry Dock Prison.

But why does the imprisonment of yet another journalist, following the jailings and deaths of others? I spoke about that in the context of continuing protests, repression, and the regime's claims of "reform".

The discussion begins at the 13:05 mark.

Bahrain Photo Special: The Life, Work, and Detention of Photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan

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Holding his Nikon D300 with a big zoom lens, a gas mask covering his face --- that’s how I remember seeing Ahmed Humaidan in every protest and rally I have joined.

Now I am unlikely to see him for a very long time. On 29 December, Ahmed was abducted by 15 plainclothes security personnel from a shopping mall: he had taken a break from his work to go to the cinema.

Ahmed is 25 years old, from the small village of Mehaza. His passion for photography started on April 2011 --- two months after the first mass protests of the Pearl Revolution --- when he bought his first professional camera. From then to last week, he never stopped documenting events.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Aleppo Airport Is Briefly Closed

2050 GMT: Syria. There are various rumors that the Taftanaz military airport has been captured by rebel forces (map). We can't verify that the base has completely fallen, but many sources indicate that an intense campaign has been launched to capture the base.

A BMP firing into the airport:

A heavy gun mounted to a 4x4 truck firing on the airport:

A small convoy of heavy guns and equipment fire on the airport:

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Syria Live Coverage: "220 Executed" as Regime Advances in Homs

Rally in Deir Baalba in Syria, November 2011

See also 2012 in Review: How Did EA's Predictions Turn Out?
Egypt Feature: Not All "Islamist" Movements Are the Same....
Iraq Video: Evaluating the Surge in Anti-Government Protests
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: UN Envoy Brahimi's Mission is "Dead in the Water"

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1735 GMT: Syria. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has told thousands of Syrian refugees that their country is preparing for a "sacred birth" replacing President Assad with the will of the people: "We can see very clearly that God's help is close. Don't forget victory comes to those who are patient."

Erdogan stood next to Moaz Al-Khatib, the head of the Syrian opposition National Coalition.

Refugee camps in Turkey host 150,000 Syrians who have fled the conflict.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Brahimi's Futile Mission to Moscow?

2124 GMT: Syria. A message from Kafranbel:

Pac-man makes a debut in Kafranbel, and the message is gold. || #Syriayfrog.com/h7erzhvj

— NMSyria (@NMSyria) December 28, 2012

It may be hard to make out, but the "Pac Man" is really the opposition flag, gobbling up AK-47s on its way to eating Assad. The "ghosts" chasing Pac Man are the flags of Russia, China, Iran, and (perhaps) the US (it's hard to see, but it's red and blue).

2110 GMT: Iraq. Across much of Iraq, large protests have been held today against government policies and behaviors that some Sunni Muslims view as sectarian in nature. In Fallujah alone there may have been tens of thousands in the streets. AP reports:

Tens of thousands of Iraqi Sunnis angry over perceived second-class treatment by the Shiite-led government massed along a major western highway and elsewhere in the country Friday for the largest protests yet in a week of demonstrations...

The biggest of Friday's demonstrations took place on a main road to Jordan and Syria that runs through the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in the Sunni-dominated desert province of Anbar, west of Baghdad.

Several thousand protesters took to the streets in Fallujah, holding aloft placards declaring the day a "Friday of honor." Some carried old Iraqi flags used during the era of former dictator Saddam Hussein, whose Sunni-dominated government was ousted in the U.S.-led invasion nearly a decade ago.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Assad Regime Negotiating a Deal in Moscow?

See also Syria 1st-Hand: Aleppo --- Hunger, Disease, & Little Hope
Wednesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Take Another Town in the North

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2315 GMT: Bahrain. Claims are circulating that leading human rights activist Zainab AlKhwaja was released from prison on bail today.

Zainab AlKhawaja @angryarabiya is free now #Bahrain #BYSHR

— Mohammed Al-Maskati(@MohdMaskati) December 27, 2012

Zainab's husband said he was collecting her from prison. He described her as the "apple of the eyes of the people of Bahrain".

Yesterday, the New York Times published an article written by Zainab behind bars. Her trial verdict was also postponed until 20 January.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Take Another Town in the North

Fighting in Harem in Syria. late October 2012

See also Yemen Feature: Covering Up the Civilian Deaths from a US Drone Attack
Bahrain Feature: Policeman Slaps Father Holding Infant --- The Video That Went Viral
Bahrain Opinion: "A Regime Trampling Human Rights" --- Detained Zainab AlKhawaja in The New York Times
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 156 Killed as UN Envoy Brahimi Meets Assad

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2145 GMT: Egypt. Having signed the approved Constitution, President Morsi used a televised speech tonight to declare "a free Constitution, not granted by a king, imposed by a president, or forced by a colonial power...[but] chosen by the people of Egypt to give to themselves".

The President said that he is planning for a Cabinet reshuffle of the Government of Prime Minister Hesham Qandil "to face all problems, large and small problems".

Morsy then called for unity through discussion, “Dialogue has become a necessity. I renew the call to all parties and political forces to participate in the national dialogue, which I personally sponsor, to complete the road map for this stage. Ahead of us are days of work, effort, diligence and production from everyone.”

Morsi promised "to do my best to boost the economy, which is facing huge challenges". He said he "will respect the law and the Constitution, safeguard the interests of the people fully, and preserve the nation and its territorial sovereignty."

2055 GMT: Syria. Minister of Interior Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar has returned to Damascus, after treatment in Lebanon for wounds sustained in an insurgent bombing near the Ministry earlier this month.

Al-Shaar was wounded in his shoulder, stomach and legs when an explosives-rigged car and two other bombs were detonated, killing at least five people.

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