Syria Live Coverage: Fighting on the Iraq Border

Extract from President Assad's interview with Sunday Times of London (see 0800 GMT)

See also Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Minister of Finance Tries to Resign Amid Financial Crisis
Saturday's Syria Live Coverage: The Fighting Around Aleppo

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2205 GMT: Casualties. Footage, with graphic images of the wounded, has been posted of the aftermath of regime shelling of the Damascus suburb of Douma.

1840 GMT: Elections in Insurgent-Held Areas. A vote has been held to elect 29 council members for insurgent-held areas in Aleppo Province.

"For the first time, Aleppo will have a freely elected provincial council. We hope the whole of Syria will have a free election soon," candidate Yehia Naanaa from Hreitan said.

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Syria Live Coverage: The Fighting Around Aleppo

Fire burns over southwestern Aleppo on Friday

See also Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 1 Killed in Continuing Protests in Mansoura
Friday's Syria Live Coverage: Foreign Governments Pledge Support for Opposition --- But How Much?

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1627 GMT: SCUD Missiles. The blog of Brown Moses, one of the leading analysts of weapons in the Syrian conflict, is highlighting what may be the first photographic evidence of the debris of a SCUD missile fired by the regime.

The photo was reportedly taken in Moelh in Deir Ez Zor Province.

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Syria Audio Feature: The Questions Beyond the Friends of Syria Meeting --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

Opposition head Moaz al-KhatibJust after the conclusion of the Friends of Syria meeting yesterday, I worked with Monocle 24's The Briefing to assess the significance and look at the important questions that follow.

Listen to discussion from 6:11 on The Briefing homepage or in a pop-out window.

In particular, we discussed the public promise by the US of $60 million in "non-lethal" aid to get to the not-so-public story of the arming of the insurgency.

The Syrian National Coalition wants a protected zone in the northwest to establish a de facto Government, but how far will Washington and its allies go in support of that, as well as the weapons supply to the insurgents in the south?

Syria Live Coverage: Foreign Governments Pledge Support for Opposition --- But How Much?

2136 GMT: Regime Retakes Iraq Border Crossing. According to Now Lebanon, the Syrian military has retaken an Iraqi border crossing at Yaarubiyeh a day after it fell to Jabhat al Nusra.

Al Arabiya, known for its occasional sensationalism, says that there's an even more interesting story - that Iraqi forces loyal to Prime Minister Nouri Al-Malaki joined the Assad troops in attacking "the Free Syrian Army" on the border:

For the first time, Iraqi forces opened fire on Syria shelling the positions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) days after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that a victory of the Syrian opposition would spread chaos in the region.

Al Arabiya correspondent near the Syrian-Iraqi border reported that Iraqi snipers took up positions on buildings near the Rebiya crossing while others forces shelled the positions of the Free Syrian Army.

We haven't independently confirmed either report, and we'd be more comfortable if we had additional information before believing the Al Arabiya headline.

2129 GMT: Airstrike in Damascus. Every day there are airstrikes, so maybe videos like this are old news, but they never stop shocking us. This video shows a jet fighter releasing a bomb and then firing flares as it climbs. It was reportedly taken today over eastern Damascus, in the Irbin suburb:

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Syria Audio Analysis: Why Politics Means No Humanitarian Aid - Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

http://goo.gl/6n12OScott Lucas speaks to Monocle 24 Radio about the reasons why we're seeing countries scramble to give other types of aid to the rebels, but humanitarian aid is almost nowhere to be seen. In fact, less than a quarter of the humanitarian aid that has been pledged to those affected by this crisis has been delivered. The Saudis, in particular, have been criticized for their lack of aid.

Scott Lucas was joined by David Schenker of the Washington Institute. Scott's assessment - this is politics, the Saudis and the Qataris are focused on trying to pick a winner in the insurgency, and the refugees are almost on their own, while the few countries that are housing refugees have not received the assistances they've asked for.

The interview starts after the 1 hour 6 minute mark, and can be heard here.

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Syria Analysis: Washington Supports Arming of Insurgents So the Regime Will Negotiate

Syrian military fires rockets from Mezzeh airport in Damascus on Wednesday.

See also Wednesday's Syria Live Coverage: The Fighting Near Aleppo's Historic Mosque

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The US is sending a signal to the regime that the time to negotiate is now. That signal may be heard in Moscow louder than it will be heard in Damascus, but it could put Russia in a spot where they will either have to pressure President Assad or watch as Syria's insurgents are further strengthened.

This, however, is not a full American move to military backing of the opposition. Kerry is hardly a hawk for intervention, and Obama has never signaled that he supports arming the insurgency.

So the questions: what happens if the regime will not make the essential commitment --- the departure of President Assad --- for the negotiations?

Given that the new "non-lethal" military aid is not enough to secure an insurgent victory, what next?

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Syria Live Coverage: US "Non-Lethal" Assistance --- and More --- for the Insurgency

2027 GMT: Closer to a Diplomatic Solution? Long-time readers will know that we've never been confident that a political settlement to this crisis was possible. However, it does appear that such a solution has never stood a better chance than it does today. As one reader suggested to me on Twitter, the SANA response to John Kerry's saber-rattling was "not very strong, leaving a breathing space" in which negotiations could take place. In fact, the same reader reminds us that Moaz al Khatbib's first demand has been met today, an extension of foreign passports, potentially signifying that the regime is clearing the way to have some dialogue with the opposition:

State news agency SANA said the Ministry of Interior extended the validity of Syrian passports to 10 years from six and that all expired passports for Syrian nationals abroad would be renewed for two years.

Syrian expatriates are unable to travel on expired passports and many Syrians abroad complain they have faced problems in renewing or getting residency visas for out-of-date documents.

Moaz al-Khatib, head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, said he would speak to Assad's representatives if expired passports were extended for two years. He also demanded 160,000 prisoners be released prior to talks.

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Syria Analysis: Washington Supports Arming of Insurgents So the Regime Will Negotiate

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Syria Live Coverage: The Fighting Near Aleppo's Historic Mosque

2155 GMT: Massacre in Aleppo Suburbs. The LCC reports that a massacre has been committed near Aleppo, in a village near Al Safira. Here is their report:

Regime’s forces executed 72 martyrs from Malkieh village western of Sfeereh. 49 were identified while 23 martyrs remain unknown. Their bodies were burned.

Al Safira is the site of heavy fighting between the rebels and the regime. The rebel efforts there are being led by Jabhat al Nusra. The nearby chemical weapons depot is thought to be one of the largest of such facilities in the entire Middle East, and has been fiercely guarded by Assad's military.

As of now we have no pictures or videos of the incident, but we are looking. As such we have not independently confirmed the details of this story.

According to the LCC, 188 people have been killed nationwide today:

99 martyrs were reported in Aleppo, including 72 executed in Sfeereh ; 59 martyrs in Damascus and its Suburbs; 11 in Idlib; 8 in Hama; 4 in Homs; 3 in Daraa; 3 in Deir Ezzor and 1 in Raqqa.

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Syria Live Coverage: Insurgent Attacks in Damascus

2106 GMT: Hezbollah Convoy - continued. As many readers have pointed out, there is no strong evidence that the mine attack in the last video worked at all. We'll have to see if we get more videos or other news sources, but it's worth watching.

2049 GMT: Hezbollah Convoy Destroyed? Since this morning there have been rumors that a convoy of Hezbollah fighters was destroyed on a highway near Damascus. French media, citing Voice of Lebanon radio and an official in the Free Syrian Army, said that "senior Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah and Syrian officers" were targeted. An opposition Facebook page suggested that the officials were on a way to a security meeting and were destroyed by landmines placed on the road.

Now, Al Jazeera's Arabic channel has picked up the report, and has played video that they say shows the attack:

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