2215 GMT: More impressive video from Bab al Dreib, Homs - the fighters in the foreground are with the Free Syrian Army, and they are attempting to capture a hospital nearby. We're told by sources that by the end of the day, the FSA controlled the hospital and another checkpoint nearby:
2203 GMT: An EA correspondent in Bahrain sends us this video of the candle-lit vigil for Mohammed Ebrahim Yaghoob, the latest child to be killed in the uprising, that was held tonight in Mehaza village (see update at 2035 GMT):
2052 GMT: Earlier today (see 1535 GMT) we posted video of a march in Kafranbel in northwest Syria, with Free Syrian Army soldiers holding their weapons high. Now we are pointed to claimed footage of the insurgents standing in a "liberated" main square:
2045 GMT: Video from Dumistan in Bahrain on Friday, as police shoot tear gas inside a car --- a woman, reported to be driving, faints after she gets out of the vehicle:
Bahrain's Minister of Interior has called tonight for prison sentences of up to 15 years for anybody caught attacking a police officer.
The call by Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalif comes after a week of violence and bloodshed in Bahrain. On Tuesday, a fightback by some demonstrators, mostly youths, resulted in an officer being attacked and wounded. Images of the incident were broadcast across the world.
However, today's call by the Minister of Interior is likely to raise many eyebrows, given the documented attacks by police against both protesters and civilians this week. There have been at least four Bahrainis killed as a consequence of police action, with reports that one of the victims was abused in police custody. Thursday night also saw security forces covering towns and villages with tear gas, bringing concern both for mmediate conequences and also long-term health risks.
The Minister of Interior's call also follows the announcement that the police are to be given more equipment with which to defend themselves against attack. That equipment, which may be used in far more than a defensive manner, includes "gas and sound bombs as well as guns that fire rubber bullets".
2133 GMT: Bahraini police have released claimed footage, released by Bahraini police, of 17-year-old Mohammad Ebrahim (see 0555 and 1700 GMT), who was allegedly hit by a police jeep on Wednesday and later died in hospital.
The video shows an alert Ebrahim, but he is in great discomfort, apparently from pain in his lower body, and needs to rest on the person next to him; also pain seems to be stemming from lower part.
This would appear to match up with the video we posted this morning, where Ebrahim appears to be limping away after being struck by the police jeep.
Curiously, the video --- like the one released by police earlier this month in which they denied beating activist Nabeel Rajab --- has no sound, limiting what we can learn of the incident.
2359 GMT: We close today's coverage with the news that a fourth person has died in Bahrain in two days. Mohammed Ebrahim Yaqoob, a 17-year-old from Sitra,, died this evening in hospital whilst under police custody, from injuries sustained earlier today.
As we noted earlier, police action in Sitra was especially reckless, endangering many lives. The following video, where Bahraini security forces drive aggressively at defenceless citizens, allegedly shows Mohammed fleeing from the Toyota manufactured jeeps. This detail is unconfirmed, but many activists are claiming that Mohammed was subsequently run over by police and that is how he sustained his fatal injuries:
2102 GMT: Everything in Syria isn't about the death tolls, however. Because it's been such a busy day, we've neglected to report that there have been a large amount of peaceful protests across the nation. And many of those protests have lasted into the night.
This video was taken in Duma, Damascus, a city that has hosted some of the most impressive protests in the entire uprising in recent days:
This video was taken in Anadan, an important suburb of Aleppo and a stronghold for anti-government protests.
2141 GMT: Large protests have lasted well into the night in many cities across Syria. This video was one of the more impressive ones, reportedly showing a protest in the Bab Qebli neighborhood of Hama:
2115 GMT: It has been another extremely bloody day in Syria, as the LCCS is now reporting 33 people killed by security forces, "including 2 children and a defected recruit and 2 men who died under torture. 11 martyrs in Homs, 9 martyrs in Idlib, 6 martyrs in Daraa, 3 in Damascus Suburbs and a martyr in each of BoKamal, Raqqa, Damascus and Hasakeh."
The steepest escalation since the last report is in Homs, where reports of heavy attacks have been reported, perhaps in response to a new wave of defections in the city.
Also, the civilian who was killed in Damascus was reportedly, killed in a protest near the Mujtahed Hospital in Midan. This video was taken, reportedly showing the protest:
2010 GMT: As anticipated, the final results of Egypt's elections confirm what many believed would be a landslide victory for Islamist parties. Reuters reports that the Muslim Brotherhood coalition has won 38% of the list seats while the salafist Nour Party 29%. This gives the Islamist parties a two-thirds majority in the party list-based vote. New Wafd and the Egyptian Coalition came third and fourth, respectively.
2000 GMT: Bahraini security forces harshly suppressed a protest held in A'ali was harshly suppressed today. The protest was held to demand the release of detainee Fadeela AlMubarak. An image of the procession before it was attacked:
A "Throne" of Tear Gas CanistersThe British Government was accused of "a brazen return to business as usual"..., after licensing exports of weapons worth millions of pounds to regimes accused of repression, including Egypt and Bahrain. The permits were granted just months after ministers said they would "carefully review" licenses for countries that met protest with violence.
Arms approved for export by the UK last autumn include rifles, sniper sights, combat vehicle parts, artillery technology and gun silencers.
The revelation comes after David Cameron's visit to Saudi Arabia...was marred by questions over Britain's continued export of arms to the kingdom, which has been accused of human rights violations. Despite unrest in Saudi Arabia last year, the UK sold the regime bomb equipment, weapons sights and components for military vehicles and helicopters.
Women and children rally in "free" Zabadani in Syria last night (see 0740 GMT)
2110 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria have posted graphic, and leaked, pictures of Hussam Ahmed Naboulsy, who was reportedly tortured during interrogations in a prison in Syria after being arrested several weeks ago. Several sources close to EA have said that they believe in the validity of the report. The LCCS posted this statement:
He wasn’t charged for any crime, there are no legal cases against him. Hussam is from Banyas city and a father of 7 kids, he is facing daily all kinds of insulting, abusing and torturing. Some video clips leaked from the prison by one of the security elements that attended the investigation and filmed it. The video clips shows his face swollen, bleeding and he is daze.
This records another brutal crime of the Syrian regime inside the prison while the Arab League Committee is still in Syria and supposed to be protecting people from the regime’s crimes.
The Local Coordination Committees in Syria (LCC) condemning this egregious violation of the human rights and the International protocols that Syria’s government is committed to. The LCC is calling to release Hussam immediately and all the opinion detainees and carries the regime the responsibility on their safety.
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 23:25
