Syria Video Discussion: Two Years After the Start of the Uprising (Al Jazeera English)

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Al Jazeera English hosts a discussion on the second anniversary of the uprising against the Assad regime, "Where is the Syrian Conflict Heading?"

I am not sure there is much value in this in the way of insight or dialogue --- rather, it is marked by warnings, forebodings, and fixed positions.

The panel includes Yaser Tabbara, legal advisor for the opposition Syrian National Coalition; analyst Joshua Landis; and Danny Makki of the Syrian Youth in Britain.

Syria Opinion: "Leadership is Nowhere to Be Found" (Hanano)

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Leadership on Syria is nowhere to be found, not in Syria nor in the rest of the world. Instead, the Syrian crisis has been reduced to these cliched statements, by politicians, journalists and pundits, that seem to create some kind of equality between the two sides.

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Syria 1st-Hand: "The First Breakdown of Regime Control in Aleppo"

University of Aleppo students demonstrate against the regime on Monday

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I just had a long conversation with friends and family in Aleppo. It may not be long before the city joins the revolution, I believe. My father could not travel by car to the border with Turkey. No driver dares take the roads north any longer, [even though] the drive to Turkey is only a half-hour. The working-class neighborhoods of Azaz, Hreitan and Anadan have largely fallen out of government control. Friends who own factories in the industrial regions outside of Aleppo complain that for a week now they have been unable to visit them. Lack of security, frequent anti-regime demonstrations and clashes between militants and the army make the excursion impossible.

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Syria Special: Intervention is Coming --- So How Should It Be Done? (Hirsh and Slaughter)

Claimed footage of a firefight in Homs on Friday between regime forces and the Free Syrian Army

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Friday's developments, both in public and behind the scenes, indicated that international intervention is not just on the way for Syria --- it has already begun. On Monday, an EA analysis assessed the options, concluding that arming the opposition could do more harm than good but that a no-fly zone protecting both insurgents and civilians might be possible.

Two new analyses pick up on this. Michael Hirsh writes how history indicates the US and Western Europe will eventually intercede in the crisis, so we should do it sooner rather than later. Anne-Marie Slaughter analyses how the world could intervene in Syria in order to stop the Assad regime.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Regime's Offensive

2126 GMT: Turning to Bahrain, a woman who was arrested for listening to a revolutionary song in her car has been released, and was greeted by a large crowd upon getting out of prison:

Fadhila al-Mubarak was detained during martial law last year at a checkpoint for listening to a tape praising a pro-democracy protest movement that erupted in February after uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Said Yousef al-Muhafda said.

Mubarak was sentenced to four years in jail for taking part in the Pearl Roundabout protests, inciting hatred of the government and insulting a public official, Muhafda said. The sentence was later reduced to 18 months and must still be appealed.

2025 GMT: This video, according to the Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre, was taken today, and shows the Assad military bombarding Zabadani (see updates below):

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