0451 GMT: James Miller is going to bed. Scott Lucas will be picking things up, with a brand new Live blog and a brand new URL. Check back between 0530 and 0600 GMT.
Senior Libyan rebel figure Mahmoud Jibril said early Monday there are still pockets of resistance in Tripoli from forces loyal to strongman Muammer Gaddafi, after rebels surged into the capital.
"I warn you, there are still pockets of resistance in and around Tripoli," Jibril said in a speech on the opposition television station al-Ahrar.
"You have to be aware that some pockets are coming from the east and you have to be cautious. The fight is not over yet. God willing, in a few hours our victory will be complete."
01:48 GMT: We're closing the live blog for a bit, but will be up and running in (gulp) a few short hours.
James was about to sign off with a report that it is quiet in Tripoli now. However, Matthew Price, a correspondent in Tripoli, sent this tweet about 10 minutes ago:
It did go quiet for a bit but appears it was a lull. Sounds of heavy fire now and explosions
It's going to be a long night in Tripoli, and a long couple of days for the EA crew. But it's going to be a much longer few days for the Gaddafi regime, so stay tuned...
01:03 GMT: The Head of Political affairs for the National Transitional Council, Fathi Baja, gave a statement to Reuters:
"There is certain information tells that forces loyal to Gaddafi withdrew and left their weapons behind in areas outside Tripoli. And I think everything is in order in Tripoli, rebels are approaching al-Sareem Street nearby Babal-Azizia complex. Gaddafi may be coerced to flee if he managed to co-ordinate it with some countries, but I hopeto arrest him to be tried with his sons and his assistants in Libya"
00:56 GMT: This video, shared by Human Rights Watch's Nabeel Rajab, shows Bahraini soldiers firing tear gas, and possible rubber or live bullets, at protesters. We are unsure when this was taken, but it was posted to Youtube tonight. Also shared by Rajab, and posted by the same youtube account as the first, is a video that shows Bahraini security forces breaking into cars.
In a separate entry, we had posted 2 exclusive videos. One video showed what may be the remains of the now infamous bodies that were dumped in a Hama river.
But the video at the top of the entry shows something very interesting, soldiers beating protesters while they are detained in a bus, forcing them to shout pro-Assad chants. Al Jazeera now has an interesting piece of analysis, that the soldiers in the video have beards, and beards are not allowed in the regular army.
This Friday was one of the most important during the course of the protest movement in Syria. For weeks, the security forces and the military, through their operations, have prevented mass demonstrations. However, in a remarkable step and due to increasing international support for the protest movement and the subsequent morale boost, many protesters have managed to overcome the security and military barriers and begin taking the steps necessary to de-legitimize the government. Despite the Syrian president’s promises to withdraw his troops and end military operations across the country, armored vehicles and tanks have continued to be stationed in city centers. In fact, security backups have been called to quell protests such as the one that occurred in Hirak and Ankhal in the Daraa Governorate, where they have resumed gunfire using both light and heavy machine guns. Today alone, security forces killed at least 22 protesters, including children who were not part of the demonstrations.
In the besieged city of Homs, all neighborhoods, including Khaldieh, Bab Sbaa, and Baba Amr demonstrated in thousands, despite gunfire yesterday and today, and despite the violent military operations in the city for the past week, which take lives on a daily basis. Deir Ezzor is in the same condition, but demonstrations approached large numbers before the military invasion.
The statement also said that there were renewed protests in the embattled regions of Idlib, its suburbs, and Hama, where security once again fired on demonstrators. In Lattakia and in Jableh, the most recent scenes of the military crackdown, protesters also began retaking the streets.
1900 GMT: The number of killed Turkish soldiers has risen to 12. Meanwhile, the so-called "second man" of PKK, claimed to have been captured by Iranian forces, announced that PM Erdogan's "no tolerance" speech is nothing short of a declaration of war! He went further and threatened Ankara:
PM shall know that we have not used even five percent of our forces. We are waging a controlled defensive war now. If we take an official decision of war and order accordingly, then Ankara will be upside down.
The Syrian regime is in big trouble. Absent an economic collapse, its downfall may not be imminent, but Most indicators lead to the conclusion that the regime is effectively done, and the only remaining questions are how bloody the transition will be and what type of Syria will emerge. On the domestic front, the social base of the regime is stagnant or shrinking. The regime immediately mobilized its entire social support structure to ‘million-man’ marches. Though many attending are government workers made to go (pro-regime marches are always on workdays), many of those attending do so willingly. However that mobilization has reached its limit: the regime has no new social base to draw on and mobilize. Most of those who willingly attend the “mnhibak” (literally: we love you) pro-regime rallies know very well that there will not be any violence otherwise they would stay home. On the other hand, the anti-regime demonstrations are steadily increasing, both in numbers and in geographic size. Three weeks ago roughly 1.2 million or 5.5% of the population demonstrated all over the country. Economically, the country is in dire straits. The tourist industry has been decimated. The increased deficit spending, from raised salaries, support for fuels, lower import tariffs are large enough, without taking into account the spending on Army mobilization, and military and security personnel. Externally, the regime is getting more, not less isolated. Just yesterday, the Russian President warned his Syrian counterpart of a ‘sad fate’, unless reforms are implemented. It was given a long leash by the West to deal with the protests, but its main asset as a guarantor of ‘stability’ is now turning into a liability.
I traveled to Syria in July to observe first-hand what is taking place inside the country. Most of my time was spent in Damascus and its suburbs, with a brief trips elsewhere, in particular a two day stint in Hama just days before the government’s massacre. What follows is a series of vignettes, hastily put together, of life inside Syria this past month. These stories represent my own understanding and readers should take all stories emerging from the country as a partial truth, but will hopefully help give a clearer picture of Syria in the midst of the revolution.
A rebel force of about 200 fighters advancing from the south reached a bridge on Az-Zawiyah's southwestern outskirts, and some rebels pushed farther into the city's central main square.
They tore down the green flag of Gaddafi's regime from a mosque minaret and put up two rebel flags. An Associated Press reporter traveling with the rebels saw hundreds of residents rush into the streets, greeting the fighters with chants of "God is great."
Gaddafi's forces then counterattacked, unleashing rounds of heavy shelling and gunfire could be heard as rebels and government troops battled.
Regime snipers were firing down from rooftops on the rebels, said one resident, Abdel-Basset Abu Riyak, who joined to fight alongside the rebels when they entered the city. He said Gaddafi's forces were holed up in several pockets in the city and that there were reports of reinforcements coming from Tripoli, though there was no sign of them yet.
Speaking to the AP by telephone, Abu Riyak said residents were now joining up with the rebels' assault, saying, "95 percent of Az-Zawiyah's people are with the revolution."
"There is shooting from all sides," said another rebel, 23-year-old Ibrahim Akram. "The people joined us. Fierce clashes are still ongoing, but thank God our numbers are great." - Associated Press
1938 GMT: James Miller takes the blog for a few updates...
The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria have stated that 7 people have been killed today in Syria, "4 in Homs, 1 in Hama, 1 in Daraya and 1 in Latakia. Earlier, two deaths were reported in Latakia."
1700 GMT: After US President Barack Obama and Saudi King Abdullah had discussed the situation in Syria. the White House said in a statement:
The two leaders expressed their shared, deep concerns about the Syrian government's use of violence against its citizens and agreed that the Syrian regime's brutal campaign of violence against the Syrian people must end immediately.
1630 GMT: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says soldiers and Assad loyalists have raided Jousiyah village near the Lebanese border, carrying out arrests.
Abdolfattah Soltani (see 0545 GMT)1930 GMT: Currency Watch. Aftab reports that the price of gold coins continues to rise --- now from 474,000 to 482,000 tomans (about $450 to $460) as Iranians put their faith in them amidst economic tensions. Meanwhile, the differential between the "free" and official rates for the US dollar continues to widen --- the Central Bank has set the rate at 1055 tomans to the dollar but the exchange rate on the street is 1200:1.
1735 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. More on the arrest of Parvin Mokhtare, the mother of journalist Kouhyar Goudarzi, as her son was being put in prison again --- while she was having a bath, the house was raided by security agents who climbed over walls to get into the property.
2116 GMT: We close the live-blog with this video, night protests in Deir Ez Zor, where tanks have occupied the city since sunday. We'll collect any developments and deliver them tomorrow morning. Thanks for tuning in:
2043 GMT: Night protests in another important neighborhood of Damascus, Ileum:
Sunday, August 21, 2011 at 16:58 | 
;)
