Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Confrontation in Cairo

2000 GMT: Activists claims Syrian troops have assaulted the village of Sarjeh in Idleb Province in the northwestern Syria. Troops backed by tanks reportedly entered the village, arresting residents as electricity and water supplies were cut off.

Activists also reported reinforcements entering Homs and detentions in the capital of Damascus, especially the Rukn ad-Deen and Qaboun neighbourhoods where protests have escalated.

1950 GMT: A march in Nuwaidrat in Bahrain in support of opposition activist Ibrahim Sharif, who has been sentenced to five years in prison.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Critical Mass?

Claimed video of military cadets marching for the opposition in Aleppo in Syria on Friday

1925 GMT: The AP is now carrying a story we've been reporting this afternoon, the clashes in Cairo, Egypt:

A crowd estimated at around 10,000 people set out from downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square but was stopped from reaching the military headquarters in the eastern Abbasiyah neighborhood by a line of army barricades. Along the way, they chanted slogans against the military council's delay in implementing their demands.

Bands of men armed with knives and sticks set upon them from side roads, setting off pitched street battles in which both sides threw punches and hurled rocks. Gunfire was heard, but it was unclear who was shooting.

1919 GMT: Bahraini police harass protesters with tear gas in Maameer:

1911 GMT: The situation might be winding down in Egypt:

RT @Sandmonkey: The #abassia battle seems to be over. People are getting out now.

1901 GMT: There are reports of an escalating situation in Egypt. According to Rasha Abdulla:

AlJazeera: More than 70 protesters injured in #Abbasiya clashes #massira

An activist is also sharing this picture, reportedly showing smoke in the air after a car was lit on fire and molotov cocktails were thrown (there appears to be fire in the background as well).

1856 GMT: Al Jazeera reports on events in Homs, where a general strike has been called and thousands protested today alongside the funerals of three people killed yetsreday:

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Syria Video Special: Friday's Protests Across the Country --- Set 2

Security forces beating protesters in a mosque in Aleppo

Tal Rifaat near Aleppo: "Why are you afraid? God is with us"

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Syria Feature: A US Plan to Replace Assad? (Ignatius)

As the Obama administration steps up its support for regime change in Syria, the Arab Spring is moving into what could be its hottest phase. The puzzle is how to help the Syrian opposition gain power without foreign military intervention — and without triggering sectarian massacres inside the country.

For months, as protests mounted in Syria, President Obama waited to see if President Bashar al-Assad could deliver on his talk of reform. Last week, the administration all but gave up on him and switched gears — and began working actively for a transition to a democratic regime.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Can the Regime "Lose" Homs?

2100 GMT: Night-time protest in Daraa in southern Syria tonight, "Oh Homs, Daraa is with you until death":

And a demonstration in the Tayba Al-Imam section in Hama also expresses solidarity:

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: "Death Squads"?

1920 GMT: (James accidentally killed this update by Scott, so it is reposted) Video of a protest tonight in the Kafar Souseh section of Damascus:

And women in Keswah chant, "Where are the detainees?"

1915 GMT: There are multiple reports of protests and clashes in Douma, Harasta, Zabadani, Qaboun, and other areas near Damascus, Syria. This is perhaps the most concerning, though unconfirmed, report:

"Security thugs attacked the about 100 protesters in #Qimaryee in #Damascus very aggressively using knifes"

1845 GMT: Along with video from today's protests (below) come reports (from multiple sources, including the LCCS) of an ongoing security crackdown in Zabadani (Zabadany), in the Damascus governate (northwest of center of city):

Damascus Suburbs: yesterday 19 July, Zabadany is still besieged suffering from several security barriers on all entrances and on branch roads leading to farms some tanks are also there. Moving barriers on roads leading to Serghaia and on other roads from and to Zabadany. The arresting campaigns continued by raiding houses, work places, at barriers and even for some people walking in streets. Some motorcycles were confiscated. Even though with the very difficult conditions people went out to streets to demonstrate yelling for freedom and to topple the regime

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Syria Video: The Military's Deadly Attacks in Homs

The funeral protest outside a mosque in Homs on Tuesday

Protesters running from gunfire

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Syria Snapshot: A Fragile Freedom in Hama (Shadid)

Hama, 1 July 2011In this city that bears the scars of one of the modern Middle East’s bloodiest episodes, the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad has begun to help Syrians imagine life after dictatorship as it forges new leaders, organizes its own defense and reckons with a grim past in an uncertain experiment that showcases the forces that could end Mr. Assad’s rule.

Dozens of barricades of trash bins, street lamps, bulldozers and sandbags, defended in various states of vigilance, block the feared return of the security forces that surprisingly withdrew last month. Protests begin past midnight, drawing raucous crowds of youths celebrating the simple fact that they can protest. At dusk, distant cries echo off cinder blocks and stone that render a tableau here of jubilation, fear and memory of a crackdown a generation ago whose toll — 10,000, 20,000, more — remains a defiant guess.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Regime Losing Control?

2025 GMT: Syria state news agency SANA is highlighting pro-regime rallies throughout the country today, including marches in Damascus, Baniyas, "stressing rejection of all forms of foreign interference in Syria's affairs".

The demonstrators unfurled large Syrian flags, sang the national anthem, and chanted in support of President Assad's reform programme.

2010 GMT: Footage from Morocco's largest city Casablanca of today's pro-reform demonstration:

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: When "Many Thousands" Becomes Routine....

Claimed footage of protest today in Idlib Province in northwest Syria

1715 GMT: Libyan insurgents carried out a late-night reconnaissance raid on Friday on the oil port of Brega in north-central Libya.

An opposition military spokesman said a light mobile force of about 50 troops had breached regime positions before pulling back for a hoped-for offensive early on Saturday.

The insurgents held Brega for weeks in the spring before it was retaken by Muammar Qaddafi's forces.

The opposition troops had reportedly tried to dispose of more than 150 landmines found outside the town, to make way for heavy artillery, but the assault left at least 10 dead and 172 wounded, according to medics.

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