Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Regime Strikes Back

2200 GMT: Meanwhile, large evening protests are reported in Raqqa, Syria. This video is reportedly from one of those protests:

2150 GMT: The rocks in this picture used to be a fairly high wall on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, surrounding the Interior Ministry. This is all that is left, according to activists Tweeting from the street:

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Syria Video Analysis: "Beginning of End of Regime is At Hand"

View Syria - Friday 27/01/2012 in a larger map

Map of Friday's protests and clashes in Damascus, as reported by the Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre

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On Friday, the talk about Syria was death, destruction, and a story about "Iranian soldiers"/engineers in the custody of the Free Syrian Army's al-Farouk Brigade in Homs. Amidst this, the most important piece of the narrative may have been missed:

The protests across the country, particularly in and around Damascus, are large, defiant, and increasingly confident in the face of the violence.

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Syria and Bahrain Analysis: Evaluating The Protests and the Crackdowns --- Will New History Be Made?

Bahrain Protester and Police, 4 January 2011In a little over a week, we will arrive at the first anniversaries of momentous developments, beginning with the fall of the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia. But if the Syrian and Bahraini activists have anything to say about it, new history will be made. 2011 was the year of the protester, and 2012 is already starting out with a bang.

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