Syria Live Coverage: Defiance in Damascus

Saturday's funeral in Mezzeh in Damascus, before it was attacked by security forces (see bottom of entry)

See also Sunday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Violence Escalates
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Story Gets Out

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1615 GMT: Activists claim Syrian security forces, to prevent a "day of defiance" around a funeral in Mezzeh in Damascus (see 0545 GMT), occupied the neighbourhood.

At least one person was slain and four wounded on Saturday at a funeral in Mezzah for an earlier victim of the violence.

Mohammed Shami, a spokesperson for activists in Damascus Province, said most shops were shut in Mezzeh as well as in the Barzeh, Qaboun, Kafarsouseh, and Jobar districts. Student demonstrations had been expected but security forces were stationed around schools.

Activist Abu Huzaifa said police forced the family of Samer al-Khatib, 34, who died after being shot in neck on Saturday, to bury him in a small ceremony early in the day. Footage of the procession:

State television showed live interviews from Mezzeh with people who claimed life was proceeding normally.

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Syria Feature: Fog of War --- How Many Defectors Died on Monday?

Fighter in Free Syrian Army (Sezayi Erken/AFP/Getty)There were two important developments in Syria on Monday. The day started with a large protest in the central Midan district of Damascus, the opposition's test the regime's promise to meet the Arab League's demand for reforms. The regime failed that test, opening fire on one of the largest protests in Damascus in months and killing up to three people.

By the end of the day, however, this headline was eclipsed by others: as many as 48 civilians had died nationwide, and 70 (or 72) soldiers had been killed in Jebel al Zawiya in Idlib Province in the northwest, as they tried to defect. The combined total of deaths, reported by some activists,would make Monday one of the bloodiest days of the crisis.

By late Monday night, however, a series of controversies had arisen. Neither the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria nor the Free Syrian Army nor any of EA's contacts had any direct knowledge of the defectors. Indeed, we were wary of the report because it did not come through traditional sources. EA's earlier note that a source had spoken to one of the defectors, was a misunderstanding --- the source had read an account from the original source, the Syrian Revolution General Commission. In-fighting began to set in, as some activists doubted the validity of the claims.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: As Dozens Die in a Kidnapping, Damascus Responds to Arab League

See also Syria Feature: Reflections on Razan Ghazzawi, Now Detained
Monday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Sorting Out "Shameless Acts of Terror"

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2110 GMT: Tonight's mass demonstration in Deir Ez Zor in northeast Syria:

2048 GMT: Yemen Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa said today that an interim government will be formed in the next 48 hours.

The announcement came as forces of President Saleh and those of dissident military and tribes pulled back from some positions in the southern city of Taiz, after at least 20 people were killed in the last five days.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Quiet? Not Really....

A march of young people in Taiz in Yemen today challenges the Saleh regime

See also Bahrain Video Feature: The Detention of the Athletes
Syria Video Special: Undercover With Those Challenging the Regime
Syria Audio Special: How Does This End?
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Noticing Homs

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2120 GMT: The presence of security forces in the Khalidiya section of Homs today:

Tadmur in Homs Province tonight:

Anadan in Aleppo Province:

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Syria, Bahrain, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Watching Homs

The clashes between President Saleh's forces and protesters in Yemen's capital Sana'a today --- 25+ protesters were killed and 100s injured

See also Tunisia Feature: Leading the Way on Women's Rights?
Israel-Palestine Feature: Trip by US Envoys Backfires, Palestinians Proceed to UN with Statehood Bid
Syria Video Feature: Tonight's Protests --- Executing Assad, Burning Russian Flag, and Calling for Protection
Bahrain Propaganda 101: How a US PR Firm Puts "News" in American Newspapers
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Once Again They Rallied

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2100 GMT: Raw footage from Reuters of the events in Sana'a in Yemen today, with security forces killing dozens of protesters:

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Syria Snapshot: Who are the "New Opposition"? (Shadid)

An opposition drawing its strength from Syria’s restive streets has begun to emerge as a pivotal force in the country’s once-dormant politics, organizing across disparate regions through the Internet, reaching out to fearful religious minorities and earning the respect of more recognized, but long divided dissidents.

The Local Coordination Committees, as they call themselves, have become the wild cards in what is shaping up as a potentially decisive stage in Syria. The success of the young protesters may determine whether that change is incremental, as the government has suggested, or far more sweeping, as the protesters themselves have demanded.

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