Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting Continues in Aleppo

A reporter for Press TV, escorted by Syrian military, declares that Salah Ed Dine is Aleppo is free of "terrorists" --- In his previous broadcast from Aleppo on 30 July, the reporter said, "All is normal"

See also Syria Opinion: "Nobody Is Above Criticism"
Iran and Syria Audio Feature: Why Tehran's Conference "Stunt" Means Little --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Battle for Aleppo Continues

---

2025 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees reports that 80 people have been killed by security forces today, including 19 in Damascus and its suburbs and 15 in Aleppo Province.

1915 GMT: Syria. A Lebanese judge has charged former Minister of Information Michel Samaha and two Syrian army officers with setting up an armed group to incite sectarian strife through “terror attacks”, including bombings and assassinations.

One of the Syrian officers as General Ali Mamluk, the Syrian National Security chief.

The indictment also said that Samaha and the Syrian army officers set up the armed group to commit crimes, fueling sectarianism “by targeting the authority of the state and its civil and military institutions.” It alleged that the group conspired “with the intelligence services of a foreign country to undertake attacks against Lebanon".

Samaha was arrested on Thursday, initially in a case linked to explosives.

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Has the Regime Lost Aleppo?

View Syria - 2012 August 3 - EA Worldview in a larger map

A map showing insurgent control of areas in northern Syria

See also Syria Feature: The Files Exposing the Regime's Spies
UAE Feature: Nervous Leaders Crack Down on Dissidents
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Annan Quits, The Mass Killings Do Not

---

2152 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees claim that 125 people died at the hands of security forces today, including 44 in Damascus and its suburbs, 20 martyrs in Deir Ez Zor Province, and 19 in Aleppo Province.

2130 GMT: Bahrain. A demonstration in Barbar tonight calling for freedom for activist Nabeel Rajab and other political prisoners:

Click to read more ...

Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Day 2 of a Presidential Election

2045 GMT: Syria. According to the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria, 38 people have been killed so far today:

10 martyrs were reported in Idlib, 7 in Hama, 6 in Damascus Suburbs (Beit Jinn, Zabadani, Abadah and Douma), 12 in Homs (Rastan, Qosair and Deir Baalba), 1 in Daraa (Kalzour), 1 in Deir Ezzor, and 1 in Aleppo.

2025 GMT: Syria. Many suspect that the results of the parliamentary election were rigged. The process itself excluded many parties and candidates that would have been legitimate challenges to the status quo. Earlier today I wrote about the convenient symmetry of the results of the parliamentary election and today's leadership vote. Everything about the election smells fishy.

Today, parliament met for the first time and elected their leadership board. To no great surprise, a former the Baath party official won the position of speaker. The rest of the results (English) are published by Syrian state media's SANA here (Arabic).

So, the former Baath party makes up the majority of the parliament, and the leadership. If you're the Syrian opposition, this sounds rigged. But if you're the Twitter Account Hama Echo, then you KNOW it's rigged:

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Says, "No Chaos, Please"

1910 GMT: Syria. Away from Aleppo, the news was as ugly as ever in some places. Activists report that several shells fell on Douma, an important suburb of Damascus. According to the LCCS, at least one man was killed by sniper fire, and at least 5 people were killed when shells fell on several homes. A graphic and disturbing video claims to show an entire family dead or dying, being evacuated on a truck after a shell reportedly fell on their home.

1905 GMT: Syria. An amazing picture, from a day to remember, at Aleppo University:

Aleppo University today #Syria twitter.com/KareemLailah/s…

— Ḱ@яℯℯм ℒαḯł@н (@KareemLailah) May 17, 2012

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Pause in the Conflict?

A Saturday evening demonstration in the Khamidiya section of Homs, including the children of those who have died in the 14-month conflict

One of a series of photos of fighting in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime --- at least four people died (see 0905, 0955, and 1603 GMT)

See also Syria Snapshot: Assad's Supporters Clash With Kurds --- But Can the Kurds Unite?
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Bahrain Live Coverage: Challenging the US Arms Sale
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Uneasy Frontline

---

1733 GMT: Lebanon. A sit-in demonstration at Aleppo University today:

1603 GMT: Lebanon. Witnesses and officials say at least four people, including a Lebanese soldier, were killed and another 24 injured in the overnight fighting in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between residents for and against the Assad regime (see 0905 and 0955 GMT).

Click to read more ...

Lebanon Feature: Is Hezbollah's Syria Policy A Regional and Domestic Mistake? (Barnard)

Lebanese man with poster of Hezbollah's Sayyid Hassan Nasrullah and Syrian President Assad, 11 January 2012 (Photo: Louai Beshahra/AFP)

---

Though Hezbollah’s base in Lebanon remains strong, it runs an increasing risk of finding itself isolated, possibly caught up in a sectarian war between its patron, Iran, the region’s Shiite power, and Saudi Arabia, a protector of Sunni interests in the Middle East. Its longtime ally, Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, has distanced itself from the Assad government, moving its headquarters out of Damascus, and Sunni revolutionaries in Syria have explicitly denounced Hezbollah as an enemy. At home, its Lebanese rivals sense a rare opportunity to erode its power.

Click to read more ...

Syria 1st-Hand: With the Insurgents in Idlib Province (Los Angeles Times)

A unit in Idlib Province of the insurgent Free Syrian Army issues a statement, 14 February 2012

---

Despite the urgency of their armed resistance and the rising death toll across the country, rebels here aren't rushing into battle against an army with far superior weapons and organization. Rather, they bide their time, staging guerrilla attacks and planning for the insurgency they want to fight, not the one they are equipped for now.

Rebels hope they'll soon see an influx of cash for weapons from the wealthy Persian Gulf monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both now openly dedicated to Assad's overthrow.

Click to read more ...

Syria Feature: War is Good...For Lebanon's Arms Dealers (Constantine)

Free Syrian Army in Idlib ProvinceHis phone rings almost non-stop, and he can barely keep up with the demand for his goods.

The war next door in Syria has been good for the Lebanese arms dealer, and the clamour from his phone promises it is going to get even better.

As the fighting in Syria escalates and pressure grows on the international community to provide the means for Syrians to repel the onslaught by government forces, his rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles become more precious commodities by the day.

Asked where the weapons are bound, Abu Jihad, who asked that his real name not be used, placed his hands over his eyes in a display of mock ignorance.

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Another Day of the "New Normal"

See also Bahrain 1st-Hand: Friday's "Festival of Loyalty" Opposition Rally
Arab Spring/Iran Special: Is This a Music-Driven Revolution?
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Spread of the Deaths

---

2125 GMT: Unconfirmed reports have come in that security forces have fired tonight on a protest in the Marjeh section of Aleppo --- footage of the crowd before the alleged incident:

Elsewhere in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city and thought throughout this crisis to be behind Assad:

In Deir Ez Zor in the northeast:

And in Saramein in the northwest:

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (24 October): How To Instantly Become an Iranian Citizen

See also Iran Video Interview: Ahmadinejad Puts Out His Standard Lines to CNN's Zakaria
The Latest from Iran (23 October): Qaddafi Visits the Supreme Leader

---

1835 GMT: No-Irony-at-All Elections Watch. A leading member of the Islamic Constancy Front, Morteza Agha Tehrani, has urged authorities to safeguard the coming elections and ensure that “votes are not stolen and there is no cheating".

The Constancy Front was established earlier this year by supporters of President Ahmadinejad and his allies. It has been at odds with other conservative factions who have sought a unified front for next March's Parliamentary vote.

In a meeting on Saturday in Qom, Agha Tehrani said: “If you truly want competent people to be elected to office, do not steal or buy votes and do not cheat.”

1605 GMT: CyberCrime. Minister of Communications and Technology Reza Taghipour has declared that the use of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and proxies is a “crime": “Now VPNs have been cut off in the country because their use is a legal violation.”

With a VPN, Internet users can get access to internet providers outside Iran by using ISPs within the country. Iranians have been using the VPNs and proxies to circumvent strict censorship by the Islamic Republic of foreign and domestic websites.

Click to read more ...