Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The King's Speech

Footage from today's funeral in Bahrain of 57-year-old Salma Abdul Muhsen of Barbar --- activists claim she died from tear gas inhalation last night

See also Syria 1st-Hand: With the Monitors in Zabadani "A City Under Siege"
Syria Interview: Activist "LeShaque" on Social Media and the Syrian Revolution
Bahrain Propaganda 101: The Countess of Wessex, a New PR Firm, and a Former British Ambassador
Bahrain Document: A List of 56 People Killed Since 14 February 2011
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A University Under Curfew

---

2045 GMT: Claimed footage of Bahraini police vehicles charging female protesters in Barbar, after today's funeral of Salma Abdul Muhsen:

2005 GMT: Claimed footage of a massive explosion in Insha'at in Homs Province today:

Click to read more ...

Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: How Long Can This Go On?

A rally in Bahrain calls for the hanging of detainees who allegedly killed policemen in March 2011 (see 1039 GMT)

See also Bahrain Video Feature: The Second "Manama March" and the Police Response
Morocco Feature: Will a Rapper's Release Be the Catalyst for More Protests?
Syria Opinion: The Assad Regime Cannot End this Crisis
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Attack in Homs

---

2127 GMT: Reuters has more on the attack by Syrian troops, backed by tanks, on Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon.

"Communications have been cut but we managed to get through to several people. Tanks are bombarding the town and have entered the outskirts, but they are being met with resistance. The Free Syrian Army (army defectors) has strong presence in the area," Kamal al-Labwani, a senior opposition figure from Zabadani who fled to Jordan two weeks ago, said.

Al-Labwani continued, "The people of Zabadani have taken up arms to protect themselves and I am afraid we could see lots of casualties. At least 50 tanks are involved in the attack and explosions are already being heard in residential areas."

Click to read more ...

Bahrain Video Feature: The Second "Manama March" and the Police Response

In dramatic scenes last week, Bahraini police attacked a march in the capital Manama with tear gas and beating partcipants, including leading activist Nabeel Rajab.

Rajab promised after the incident that there would be another march, and so it proved last night as hundreds of people gathered in the location of last week's clash. Again the police asked Rajab to disperse the demonstrators. Again he refused. Again the security forces attacked with tear gas and flash grenades.

Activists' montage of the events, beginning with the prominence of the horn-backed slogan, "Down Down [King] Hamad" and continuing with the showdown with the police:

Click to read more ...

Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: An Inconvenient Beating, An Inconclusive Meeting

2205 GMT: That last update appears to be even more significant than we originally thought. First of all, an opposition Facebook page says that there were clashes between anti-government protesters and Bahraini police yesterday in the village of Al Dair. Apparently, there was another protest in Al Dair tonight (see a photo gallery posted by activists).

But the significant piece of evidence is this video, which shows a crowd being attacked by plain-clothed men. The attackers then appear to grab a young boy and drag him away. Towards the end of the video, a white van, which appears to be similar to one used by police, appears in the frame, suggesting that the plain-clothed men are the same as the ones in the last video and are working with the police. At the very end of the video, a policeman appears and fires teargas towards the now-scattered crowd, confirming this suspicion:

A daytime rally, reportedly today in Al Dair village:

Click to read more ...

Bahrain Interview: Nabeel Rajab - How Police Attacked the Manama March and Beat Me

p>

Footage of the Manama march and police attack on Friday night

See also Bahrain Feature: Dar Kulaib --- The Regime's "Sectarian" Tactics and A Village Under Assault
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Explosion in Damascus, Police Attack in Manama

---

Rajab tried to get to his car as other protesters sought shelter in houses from the continuous baton charges and tear gas smoke. He only made it 500 metres. Several riot policemen cornered him in an alley. He felt two hard baton blows on his back, then one of the officers punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. The riot police then started to kick him as he hid his face in his hands. As they verbally abused him, he shouted his name and said that he was a human rights activist. 

That altered the riot police's behaviour immediately --- the kicks and punches started to fall harder and more frequently. 

Click to read more ...

Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Starting 2012 With a Bang

Bahraini police, after speaking to activist Nabeel Rajab, attack the protest march in Manama on Friday night

See also Syria Video: Amidst the Violence, A #SecurityFail Comedy Moment
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Calling for International Intervention?

---

1930 GMT: Security camera footage showing the moment of yesterday's blast in Damascus has been obtained by the Al Alam News Network (and uploaded to YouTube via a third party). The commentators note that the explosion can be seen under the highway overpass, next to a car belonging to the security forces. See our liveblog yesterday for a map pinpointing the exact location of the blast.

Click to read more ...

Bahrain 1st-Hand: Mariam Al Sarraj and the Raid on Salihiya

A Bahraini flag is removed from the home of Nabeel Rajab last night.

See Also, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Newsflash --- "The Killings Continue"

Last month, Mariam Al Sarraj was arrested alongside Zainab AlKhawaja for staging a sit-in protest at a roundabout on Budaiya Highway. Last night, she tweeted that her father had been arrested during a raid on the village of Sallihiya, a raid that nearly also led to the detention of Nabeel Rajab, President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

---

What happened in Salihiya last night --- The people came out in a peaceful march, with [President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights] Nabeel Rajab and [human rights activist] S. Yousif Almahafda.

Just after a few minutes [into] the march, mercenaries came to attack - and most of the people were running to hide in the nearest house. My uncle's house was the nearest to us, so we...entered. Nabeel Rajab and S.Yousif were in the same house, so we got the most amount of tear gas.

Click to read more ...

Syria, Bahrain, Egypt (& Beyond) LiveBlog: Protest Resurgent

2240 GMT: Video surfaces from Bahrain of what appears to show riot police walking down a street and throwing a molotov cocktail, or similar device, towards a building, possibly in a residential area. A fire ensues.

2150 GMT: This picture from Abusaiba village and the following video from Jid Hafs reveal the scale of tear being used against domestic populations at night:

2130 GMT: Josh Sharyar has spoken to people in Bahrain who can barely breathe inside their own homes. One contact's father won't stop coughing, and his son reports that he believes he might die tonight.

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: What Will This Friday Bring?

2030 GMT: The LCCS reports that 40 people have died today in Syria:

7 children 3 women, 4 defected soldiers. The deaths are distributed as follows: 18 in Homs,7 in Idlib,9 in Damascus Suburbs (3 in each of kafarbatna and Domaair 2 in Douma, , 1 in Saqba,) 4 in Hama, and 2 in Daraa (Sanamain and Inkhil

1940 GMT: According to Nick Kristof, his videographer's camera was hit by tear gas or rubber bullets, and the attack only stopped when his cameraman, Adam Ellick,started to yell that he was an American journalist.

For his part, Adam has been pretty quiet since the incident, though his last tweet is pretty telling:

"This photo of graffiti pretty much sums up my night in #Bahrain with @NickKristof"

1931 GMT: Turning back to Syria, the LCCS is now reporting that 37 people have been killed by security forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad:

Click to read more ...

Bahrain Opinion: The US and "The Wrong Side of History"

There used to be a saying, "History is written by the victors." That does not hold anymore. Though Bahrain's protest movement may have been suppressed, history is not going to remember this as the a valiant defence by Bahrain's regime against a violent minority, aided by malevolent foreign powers. This will be remembered as an apartheid regime crushing a democracy movement, assisted by its biggest foreign ally still portraying itself as a beacon of liberty and justice.

The White House appears unaware of this re-writing of history. That failure will not just land it on the wrong side of history. It will also put it, on a daily side, on the wrong side of those who observe and wonder for what "America" really stands. 

Click to read more ...