Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Noticing the Political Prisoners

Tonight's demonstration in Tal Refaat in Aleppo Provice in Syria, expressing support for the opposition's National Unity Council

See also Bahrain Feature: The Regime's Public-Relations Army of US and British Consultants
Yemen Feature: Locals "We Have Bigger Problems Than Al Qa'eda"
Sunday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Trying to Stem the Protests

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1947 GMT: An activist, claiming he was speaking from hiding, has said that Syrian troops have detained more than 3,000 people in the past three days in house-to-house sweeps in Rastan,.

The Syrian military reportedly occupied the town of 70,000 in Homs Province after a five-day assault last week. The activist said the detainees were being held at a cement factory, schools, and the Sports Club, a massive four-storey compound.

Syria's state-media said troops moved into Rastan to hunt down "armed terrorists".

Meanwhile, a funeral procession was held for the 21-year-old son of Syria's top Sunni Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun.

Hassoun's son was killed on Sunday in an ambush in northern Syria. The cleric, considered a close supporter of the Assad regime, told hundreds of people attending the funeral at a mosque in Aleppo that dissenters working against Syria from abroad: "Come and say whatever you want here and if anyone rejects [you], I will be with you in the opposition.You want freedom, you want justice then come here and build it with us in Syria."

Hassoun blamed fatwas or religious edicts by unnamed clerics, living abroad, for the death of his son.

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