Libya Special: National Transitional Council Struggles to Remain the "Good Guys" (Malone)

http://bit.ly/tC4bKtWith Muammar Qaddafi gone, the unifying focus for National Transitional Council fighters to do the near-impossible has been removed. In the face of massive obstacles, despite politics, infighting, and even the death of the commander of the NTC forces, Abdul Fatah Younis, the fighters did not let sectarian tensions distract them from their cause.

Now that Qaddafi is dead and the country is united under a single, transitional, national government, there are obvious problems in maintaining that unity and avoiding the sectarian strife.

Barry Malone, writing for Reuters, examines the problems facing the NTC as they attempt to "remain the good guys." But Malone is not all doom and gloom, predicting that in all probability, Libya will evolve into a scene of "peaceful politicking with some low-level skirmishes possible as Libya moves down a bumpy path of change"....

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Syria Special: The Resignation of Hama's Attorney General

The defection of such a high-ranking and well respected member of the regime, Adnan Bakour, is already sending shockwaves around Syria, and the globe. But perhaps just as important are the astonishing claims that Mr. Bakour makes, new rights abuse allegations that surpassed the scale of anything we've reported so far.

Among the claims: 72 prisoners have died in Hama's central prison (nearly matching Amnesty International's total of 88, a number that will surely rise). 420 people lie in a single mass grave, and Bakour was asked to testify that they had been killed by "armed gangs." 320 people have been tortured by security personnel, 17 of whom died. 10,000 peaceful protesters have been imprisoned in Hama alone.

These claims, if verified, will dramatically raise the death toll in Syria, and Hama, as they are not included in the number, 2200 according to the UN, of people who have died so far, most of them on the streets, not in the prisons. But Bakour's claims also send another shiver through those covering this story...

If these are only the numbers from Hama, how bad are things in Deir Ez Zor, occupied for weeks, or any of the other cities in Syria?

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) Liveblog: Cracks in the Regime

2003 GMT: We have posted a separate video entry, Syria Video Special: A Protest Movement Renewed.

1927 GMT: There have been massive protests in Maree (Aleppo), Idlib City, Homs, Daraa, Douma (Damascus), Ugarit, and other locations across Syria. We will post a video special in short order, but once again large scale protests have covered many areas of the country today.

1921 GMT: A large protest at another funeral in Maree, 35 km north of Aleppo:

1914 GMT: We've received two videos from activists in Al Hoole, Homs. This first is fairly standard, a large armored anti-aircraft machine gun, a dangerous anti-personnel weapon, positioned in a residential neighborhood. The second video, however, appears to show snipers building defenses on rooftops in the same neighborhood.

1907 GMT: Amnesty International has released new accusations of human rights abuses leveled against followers of Muammar Qaddafi:

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Syria, Libya, (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Feast of the Martyrs

2024 GMT: Activists are reporting protests, and gunfire, in Aleppo. Here is one account:

Aleppo: Security opened fire at the protesters in Izaz, while another two demonstrations were happening in Ikteren and Andan

2018 GMT: Al Jazeera reports on another high-profile defection from the Syrian regime, but this one much closer to the security apparatus:

The attorney general in Hama, Adnan al-Bakkour, has resigned his post in protest over repression exercised by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking in a video footage posted on the Internet by activists, al-Bakkour has accused the Syrian government of killing 72 prisoners who were held in custody at Hama central prison.

1935 GMT: According to multiple Twitter accounts, Said Qaddafi is conducting a phone interview right now. So far, the best quote:

Saif: NTC's head jaleel is a liar, they did not take Bab Azizia, it was bombed many times by NATO and was opened to visitors.

Also, someone quotes Saif and then asks a relevant question:

"we are drinking tea and coffee, am asking everyone to attack the rats." Why not stop drinking and attack them yourself?

1919 GMT: EXTREMELY IMPORTANT VIDEO: Protesters shout anti-regime slogans into the face of soldiers in Angel, Daraa. On a more careful watching, however, the soldiers also appear to be chanting their support for the protesters, though the roadblock is maintained.

Protesters can also be seen waving olive branches at the soldiers.

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