Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 109 Killed Amid Reports of "Children as Human Shields" and a "Plainclothes Army"

2023 GMT: Syria. The battles near Homs are heating up, and the Free Syrian Army seems to be making significant headway:

FSA back in Baba Amro, Homs - stunning combat footage with tank destroyed youtube.com/watch?v=nZI7xS… youtube.com/watch?v=JdTVoB… #Syria

— edward dark (@edwardedark) June 12, 2012

2003 GMT: Tunisia. The Ministries of Interior and Defense have declared a night-time curfew in the capital Tunis and seven other suburbs and cities following clashes with Salafi Islamists and other protesters angered by an art exhibition they say insults Muslims (see 1234 GMT).

The curfew begins at 9 p.m. and ends at 5 a.m. and will be enforced throughout the capital, the suburbs of Ben Arouss, Ariana, and Manouba, and the cities of Sousse, Monastir, Jendouba and Ben Guerdane.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 65 Dead Amidst Manoeuvres for Talks

A video illustrating that, despite reports of juveniles tried in military courts (see 0847 GMT), all Egyptian children love the ruling armed forces

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2040 GMT: According to the Locall Co-ordinating Committees of Syria, the Assad military has begun an assault on the town of Saraqeb in Idlib Province:

Idlib:Saraqeb: The regime's army continues to encircle the city amid a widespread deployment of tanks in the southern part, where continuous gunfire and explosions were reported. The regime's army has also surrounded hospitals to deny entry to the wounded; this led residents to treat the wounded in field hospitals along the city's perimeter. Electricity is still cut off for the fourth consecutive day.

The regime's arrest campaigns are still ongoing as well, and the number of detainees is now in the hundreds. Moreover, residents cannot bury the martyrs who fell during the days-long regime siege on Saraqeb because of the continuous shelling and bombardment. The random shelling has also damaged the Information Office, which therefore cannot post any videos that document the harsh reality in the area

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