Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Sights and Sounds of Protest

2018 GMT: An unconfirmed, but very serious report, from Daraa, Syria:

Daraa:Nwa:Martyrdom of Yazan Reyad Jahmany&several wounded by the security ammunition, many ppl r still trapped in the mosque

2013 GMT: We're gathering videos of tonight's protests in Syria, but we're also hearing reports of violent crackdowns in Homs, the area around the Al-Rahman Mosque in Al-Tabait, Lattakia, and this report from Midan, an important neighborhood in the center of Damascus where some activists are reporting casualties:

#Midan ive seen about 15 ambulances storm past me already, i think they are using them to detain ppl.

1933 GMT: The UN Security Council has reached an agreement to condemn the violence in Syria, and is finalizing the language, which will released later today:

The 15 members of the council are now seeking final approval of the wording from their respective governments - when that comes, they will formally adopt the statement later on Wednesday, correspondents say.

1854 GMT: The US is placing even more political pressure on Syria today. The State Department announced today that more of its embassy staff will be evacuated today. White House spokesman Jay Carney openly condemned Assad:

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Hello to Ramadan, Hello to Turmoil

Despite violence, a large crowd protests last night in Lattakia, Syria.

See also Syria Video Essay: 1st Day of Ramadan was a Day of Chaos
Egypt Video Special: Military Breaks Up Tahrir Square Sit-In
Live Audio From Hama: Shelling Continues for Second Night

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2056 GMT: We close the liveblog with this last collection of audio and video. We will be collecting night protest videos and posting them either late tonight or early tomorrow. {Editor's note --- collection now moved to separate entry, "Syria Video Special: Another Defiant Night of Ramadan Protests".]

2015 GMT: A loud, and large, group of protesters leave a mosque and pour into the streets of Midan, in the heart if Damascus tonight:

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Egypt Video Special: Military Breaks Up Tahrir Square Sit-In

Also See Our Live Blog of the Event: Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Regime's Deadly Gamble

Al Jazeera describes what happened early on Monday, as the Egyptian military cleared Tahrir Square, Cairo, of all protesters, breaking the long-standing sit-in protest there:

The Army arrives outside the square

As the army arrived, some groups tried to form a human chain to stop them from entering the Tahrir Square:

The army moves in

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond): Can You "Disappear" All the Protesters?

2030 GMT: Big news from Libya tonight as the opposition National Transition Council has announced the death of its military commander, General Abdel Fattah Younes and two other officers.

The three men appear to have been slain by an assassination squad, possibly a "sleeper cell", in the opposition centre of Benghazi.

Earlier today the opposition had announced that Younes, the former Minister of Interior under Muammar Qaddafi, was going to be detained for questioning over his family's ties to the regime. Tonight the Council said Younes had been killed before he was interrogated.

The Council has announced three days of mourning for the slain commander.

1940 GMT: Back from a break to find claimed footage of a general strike today in Daraa in southern Syria:

And in Hama:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Zombie March

2010 GMT: A protest tonight in Harasta outside Damascus, with chants, "Syria is ours, not for Assad´s family" and "Leave, Bashar".

And in Tal Kalakh in southern Syria:

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Night Protests Continue

People rally after evening prayers in the Midan section of Damascus --- note the masks and scarves worn by many to disguise identities

1855 GMT: This video, claiming to have been taken today in Sitra, Bahrain, shows a crowd of police arresting an unarmed man.

1841 GMT: Turkey has delivered the first shipment of oil to the Eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, part of a $10 million oil deal. This shipment will supply needed oil to the Libyan rebels, who have been unwilling to operate their oil infrastructure for fear of Gaddafi's forces targeting the resources.

1816 GMT: In southern Yemen, tribal forces have cooperated with the government to strike at Islamic militants in Zinjibar:

In the south, tribesmen on Monday said they routed militants from parts of the capital of the flashpoint Abyan province. Zinjibar lies east of a key shipping channel where some 3 million barrels of oil pass daily, and is one of several areas in Abyan seized by militants in recent months.

The tribes began backing a military operation to recapture Zinjibar in recent weeks, after accusing the army of being ineffective.

A tribal source said fierce clashes on Monday sent many militants fleeing north to Lawdar, where they were repelled again. Six militants were wounded and four others captured, he said.

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Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Confrontation in Cairo

2000 GMT: Activists claims Syrian troops have assaulted the village of Sarjeh in Idleb Province in the northwestern Syria. Troops backed by tanks reportedly entered the village, arresting residents as electricity and water supplies were cut off.

Activists also reported reinforcements entering Homs and detentions in the capital of Damascus, especially the Rukn ad-Deen and Qaboun neighbourhoods where protests have escalated.

1950 GMT: A march in Nuwaidrat in Bahrain in support of opposition activist Ibrahim Sharif, who has been sentenced to five years in prison.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Can the Regime "Lose" Homs?

2100 GMT: Night-time protest in Daraa in southern Syria tonight, "Oh Homs, Daraa is with you until death":

And a demonstration in the Tayba Al-Imam section in Hama also expresses solidarity:

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Regime Losing Control?

2025 GMT: Syria state news agency SANA is highlighting pro-regime rallies throughout the country today, including marches in Damascus, Baniyas, "stressing rejection of all forms of foreign interference in Syria's affairs".

The demonstrators unfurled large Syrian flags, sang the national anthem, and chanted in support of President Assad's reform programme.

2010 GMT: Footage from Morocco's largest city Casablanca of today's pro-reform demonstration:

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Egypt Special: Building A Nation in Tahrir Square (Salem)

A scene as night falls in Tahrir Square (Photo: Isabel Esterman)

If Tahrir is a microcosm of modern-day Egypt with all of its issues --- and it managed to get there in a week --- then being there for the next few days is crucial to understand what might happen in the next few years and how to prevent it. The lessons that we will learn from being there now, about our problems and the proposed solutions to solve them, are invaluable for a nation that is seeking a new beginning like ours, not one that we created from scratch like Tahrir [has been]. All of those people with ready-made solutions should go and try them out there before proposing it nation-wide. All of those people from outside who know how to best solve our problems should come and help us solve them, because as a nation we will also need this help from Egyptians from abroad, whether we like it or not. Basically if you are interested in figuring out what the problems facing our society and the best way to solve them, Tahrir is where you should be heading to right now.

And you must stay with us, and help us in every way you can if you choose that responsibility. We no longer want tourists who want to have fun and give advice from afar, we want people who love this country so much that they are willing to get their hands dirty, even if it means standing at a security checkpoint for two hours a day, and spending the rest with your friends there. Let’s go, and try, and fail and learn with us there, because that’s better done in Tahrir than in Egypt. It’s really simple: If everything is hazy, and you want to know what’s going to happen next in the country, Tahrir, right now, even if this sit-in lasts for one more day, is the place to be.

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