Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: How Many Have Died in Hama?

Today was a hot Friday in Ramadan, a day where traditionally people of faith fast during the day, and stay home out of the sun. Instead, in Syria, possibly 125,000 protesters, or possibly more, took to the streets. They marched, chanted, and prayed for change in their country. Those hopes were met with bullets more often than they were not.

The list of casualties today is likely to be between 15-30, not counting what happens tonight, and what happened today in Hama. Since Ramadan began last weekend, approximately half of the casualties in most of Syria have occurred at night. Regardless, today, and tonight, the Syrians are sending a clear message that the old ways will never return, and Syria will never be the same.

Meanwhile, still very little news out of Hama, and all of it bad. The city is under attack by at least 250 tanks, and their food, medicine, communication, and water supplies have been cut off. The people of the fourth largest city in Syria, a city larger than Boston, have no water. Tomorrow's forecast - 100+ degrees Fahrenheit.

And Yemen is heating up, Egyptians are still struggling with the military, the Libyan rebels still fight Gaddafi, and Bahrainis still protest. Ramadan is going to be a long, ugly, and important month.

We close with this live feed from an incredible and festive Lattakia, on Syria's coast:

We will return tomorrow morning.

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Syria Video and Analysis: Who Killed These Men and Where is the River Where They Were Dumped?

Warning: GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING IMAGES

The video was uploaded on 31 July. The Arabic caption reads: "Is there any crime worse than killing someone and then throwing the body in the river? Where are human rights? Where is world opinion? Where is Amnesty International?" There is no way to properly verify the clip.

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Trying a President, Cutting Off Hama

2215 GMT: Mass rally in Homs in Syria tonight:

2100 GMT: Two clips of tonight's protest in Harasta, northeast of the Syrian capital Damascus, demanding the fall of the Assad regime:

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Syria Document: The UN Security Council Resolution Condemning the Regime

The Security Council expresses its grave concern at the deteriorating situation in Syria, and expresses profound regret at the death of many hundreds of people.

The Security Council condemns the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities.

The Security Council calls for an immediate end to all violence and urges all sides to act with utmost restraint, and to refrain from reprisals, including attacks against state institutions.

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Syria Video Essay (3 August): More Night Prayer and Protest

For the third night in a row, civilians in Syria attend their local mosques to pray Taraweeh, part of their Ramadan tradition. After the prayers, the protests begin. We've already received reports of casualties and violence, and we will update this video list as video filters in.

See also today's liveblog, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Sights and Sounds of Protest

See also Syria Video Special: Another Defiant Night of Ramadan Protests

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UPDATED Thursday, 0503 GMT: We have received over 50 videos of protests tonight, here are just a sampling. Notice that there has been very little video, or news, out of Hama since this morning, where the military action has only intensified, and most forms of communication have been shut down.

Bullets ring out in the night sky over Homs:

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Sights and Sounds of Protest

2018 GMT: An unconfirmed, but very serious report, from Daraa, Syria:

Daraa:Nwa:Martyrdom of Yazan Reyad Jahmany&several wounded by the security ammunition, many ppl r still trapped in the mosque

2013 GMT: We're gathering videos of tonight's protests in Syria, but we're also hearing reports of violent crackdowns in Homs, the area around the Al-Rahman Mosque in Al-Tabait, Lattakia, and this report from Midan, an important neighborhood in the center of Damascus where some activists are reporting casualties:

#Midan ive seen about 15 ambulances storm past me already, i think they are using them to detain ppl.

1933 GMT: The UN Security Council has reached an agreement to condemn the violence in Syria, and is finalizing the language, which will released later today:

The 15 members of the council are now seeking final approval of the wording from their respective governments - when that comes, they will formally adopt the statement later on Wednesday, correspondents say.

1854 GMT: The US is placing even more political pressure on Syria today. The State Department announced today that more of its embassy staff will be evacuated today. White House spokesman Jay Carney openly condemned Assad:

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Syria Video Special: Another Defiant Night of Ramadan Protests

UPDATE 1335 GMT: We struggled to find good video of last night's protests in Aleppo, but now we have found a clip of good quality:

Welcome to another night of Ramadan. Already, the opposition, and the regime, have established a routine. Each night, protesters attend Taraweeh Prayers, leave their mosques, and march through the streets. Each night, the Syrian regime beats, arrests, tear gasses, and shoots civilians.

And for the second night in a row, we have posted videos from the night.

We start with live-streaming audio from Hama, where the Syrian military shells the city with tanks. Just moments before the stream drops out, a loud explosion can be heard nearby and intense chanting can also be heard:

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Hello to Ramadan, Hello to Turmoil

Despite violence, a large crowd protests last night in Lattakia, Syria.

See also Syria Video Essay: 1st Day of Ramadan was a Day of Chaos
Egypt Video Special: Military Breaks Up Tahrir Square Sit-In
Live Audio From Hama: Shelling Continues for Second Night

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2056 GMT: We close the liveblog with this last collection of audio and video. We will be collecting night protest videos and posting them either late tonight or early tomorrow. {Editor's note --- collection now moved to separate entry, "Syria Video Special: Another Defiant Night of Ramadan Protests".]

2015 GMT: A loud, and large, group of protesters leave a mosque and pour into the streets of Midan, in the heart if Damascus tonight:

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Syria Video Essay: 1st Day of Ramadan was a Day of Chaos

UPDATE 1837 GMT: A new video, posted today, of yesterday's bombardment of Hama.

SeekerSK provides this translation:

Artillery shelling of Hama on 8-1-2011 before/when people break their fast- Vid was uploaded today

UPDATE 1245 GMT: James Miller here, with two additional updates about this first, and now infamous clip.

The first is that if you compare the audio from the original to the audio of the State TV version, the State TV version is worse (the state TV version starts at about 08:22). They have added a low-level buzz, and then the audio drops out and the buzz swells. As an audio professional in a previous life, I can testify that a battery operated camera will not get an audio buzz, only a broadcast camera, and it never sounds like that. It is our assessment that the Syrian State TV is obviously, and clumsily, doctored.

The second update comes from the Guardian's Paul Owen, who links to us and provides a translation for the video:

Some of (the bodies) seemed to have had their throats slit - (are) being thrown into the Al-A'assi river by Shabiha ("ghosts" – pro-Assad militia). The dead people are described in the caption as "heroes of Hama". The people around the Shabiha can be heard encouraging them, and insulting and cursing the dead people. The Shabiha shout "God is greatest" as they throw the bodies in the river. "Don't film" is also heard.

The video was uploaded on 31 July. The Arabic caption reads: "Is there any crime worse than killing someone and then throwing the body in the river? Where are human rights? Where is world opinion? Where is Amnesty International?" There is no way to properly verify the clip. Many thanks to my colleague Mona Mahmood for translation.

UPDATE 0830 GMT: And now a twist in the tale....

This 11-minute clip from Syrian state TV starts with footage which claimed to be of gunmen in Hama shooting at military from the streets and rooftops.

It is the final minutes, however, that are of immediate interest. The clip uses the same footage, posted by James Miller below, of what has been claimed as pro-Assad "thugs" throwing the bodies of protesters into a river near Hama. On state TV, however, the footage is protesters throwing dead troops over the bridge --- the sound has the men talking about the bodies as "soldiers".

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Live Audio From Hama: Shelling Continues for Second Night

An intense video, posted by a man who claims to be a resident of Hama. We have no way of verifying this report, but we do know that NPR's Andy Carvin believes it is genuine. Gunshots, chanting, and loud noises can be heard in the distance, and sometimes the violence is too close to call. In several points of the audio, a bullet snap can be heard, as if the bullets are passing very closely.

The narrator prays, speaks about his disdain for the Assad regime, and the Assad's disregard for human rights. The narrator is both defiant and scared, mournful and hopeful, prayerful and weak. It's a moving narrative, and regardless of one's understanding of Arabic, it is worth the listen.

UPDATE 2017 GMT: The live stream appears to have ended a little less than an hour ago. The video was updating in 15-35 minutes segments, and the archive can be found here.

This is the video that immediately precedes the previous video:

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