Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgent Advance in Aleppo Overtakes "Ceasefire"

2024 GMT: Syria. At least 94 people have been killed so far today, the first day of Eid and the first day of the ceasefire, according to the LCC which also reports that mortar fire has hit suburbs of Damascus well into the night:

38 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs 10 of them were martyred in the explosion of Zohour neighborhood, 22 in Aleppo 4 of them were members of the FSA, 11 in Idlib, 7 in Deir Ezzor, 7 in Daraa, 6 in Homs, and 3 in Hama.

See our note about the casualty figures put forth by the LCC.

In a separate audio feature, EA editor Scott Lucas speaks with Monocle Radio about the latest news from Syria. According to Scott, the fighting in Aleppo will, in the long run, prove far more significant than the ceasefire which was never more than a facade.

See also Syria Audio Feature: Why Insurgent Advance Is More Important Than The Ceasefire

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Ceasefire Theatre While Fighting Continues

1856 GMT: Syria. 78 people have been killed by the Assad regime so far today, according to the Local Coordination Committees:

33 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs most of them in Douma; 14 in Aleppo; 14 in Idlib: 10 in Homs; 3 in Daraa; 2 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Lattakia; 1 in Raqqa; 1 in Hasakeh and 1 in Hama.

The Local Coordination Committees (LCC) is an activist network operating both inside and outside of Syria. They claim to use stringent verification processes to ensure that a member of the LCC can vouch for any information posted either on their Facebook page or their website. The LCC also populates a database of those killed in the Syrian conflict, which can be seen at the website for the Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria.

The LCC's casualty figures are a mix of insurgents and civilians, and never include regime casualties. Syrian State Media has stopped reporting regime casualty figures.

According to the latest tally by the VDC, 31534 have been killed so far in this conflict.

1846 GMT: Libya/Egypt A suspect in the September 11th embassy attack in Benghazi was killed in a raid in Cairo, and several others were arrested. Ahram Online reports:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Deaths at the Aleppo Bakery

The aftermath of Tuesday's shelling of a bakery in Aleppo

See also Syria Feature: Activists in New Roles as Relief Volunteers
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The UN Talks Cease-Fire --- Is Anyone Listening?

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2015 GMT: Egypt. Ten liberal and leftist political forces boycotted a meeting with President Mohamed Morsi today, objecting to the proposed Constitution and the Constituent Assembly that drafted it.

The boycotting factions included the Constitution Party, the Popular Current, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Nasserist Party, the Karama Party, the Free Egyptians, the Socialist Popular Alliance, Free Egypt, and the Adl Party.

The meeting was attended by Ayman Nour, spokesman for the Conference Party and member of the Constituent Assembly; Mohamed El-Beltagi, prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party; and Essam Sultan, deputy head of the Wasat Party and Constituent Assembly member. Presidential advisors Emad Abdel-Ghafour --- who is also head of the Salafist Nour Party --- Ayman El-Sayad, Omaima Kamel, Pakinam El-Sharqawi, and Farouk Gowida.

Some of those who attended expressed concern about the Constituent Assembly. Nour told Morsi, "The threat of dissolving the assembly has vanished. We're now left with the possibility that one wing will control the assembly, and therefore we need your intervention."

Nasserist Sameh Ashour said that finalising the constitution before the High Constitutional Court (HCC) rules on the Constituent Assembly was "wrong", insisting that the assembly should freeze its work until the HCC issues its verdict.

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Syria Feature: Activists in New Roles as Relief Volunteers (Los Angeles Times)

Photo: Fadi Yeni TurkWhen Hytham was released from a Syrian prison in the spring after his third incarceration for being an opposition member, he expected to return to the streets with thousands of other activists to call for the fall of the government.

Instead, he found an opposition landscape that had been transformed from one of demonstrations and peaceful dissent to that of an armed uprising.

Now Hytham, who graduated from medical school last year, volunteers in the field hospitals that dot Damascus and its suburbs, treating civilians injured in government shelling and airstrikes and rebels wounded in fighting. He moves carefully through the city and its myriad checkpoints, smuggling desperately needed medicine and medical supplies.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The UN Talks Cease-Fire --- Is Anyone Listening?

The devastastion in the Khalidiya section of Homs

See also Israel-Palestine Live Coverage (23 October): Gaza, Settlements, Iran, and Elections
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "Revolution Was Won When Wall of Fear Was Broken Down"

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1709 GMT: Kuwait. Last Thursday, former MPs Bader Al-Dahoum, Falah Al-Sawwagh, and Khaled Al-Tahous were arrested and charged of criticising the Emir at an opposition gathering on 10 October. The following picture was taken shortly after their arrest:

Today, they appeared in court with shaved heads, wearing prison uniforms:

Former MPs: Altahous, Alsawaq, &Aldahoum appear in court with shaved heads wearing prison uniforms. Source: Alrai..twitter.com/AlraiMediaGrou…

— mohammad Almutawa (@m_watan) October 23, 2012

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "Revolution Was Won When Wall of Fear Was Broken Down"

2046 GMT: Syria. Another massacre reported in Syria. The LCC publishes this claim:

New massacre by the regime forces, the number of martyrs range between 60-70 martyrs, they were found in the city with sings on torture, most of these martyrs were detained in Sejn Mukhabarat Jaweye, ages of martyrs range between 18-40 years old.

Earlier the town, the site of several such massacres in the past, was reportedly shelled by regime forces.

We've yet to see any videos or photos of the bodies - treat this as unconfirmed, despite the LCC's reliable track record.

1922 GMT: Bahrain. EA's John Horne reports:

King Hamad today "affirmed his keenness on the independence of the judicial authority" as he received newly appointed High Court of Appeal Judges, according to Bahrain state media.

His comments come as NGO Reporters Without Borders said they were "outraged" by the acquittal of a policewoman for torturing France 24 journalist Naziha Saeed, which they called "a verdict that illustrates the Bahrain’s judicial system’s lack of independence".

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Turkey Feature: Syria Conflict Puts Strain on 1 Million Alawites

Photo: Ayman Oghanna/New York TimesHatay, Turkey's southernmost province, is home to most of the country's Alawites. At around one million, they represent a small but vocal minority leading the opposition to the government's role in the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

"When something is happening in Syria we feel it," said 31-year-old Kemal sitting in a park in central Samandag. "We have Turkish citizenship, but our origins are Arab."

He spoke in a Syrian dialect of Arabic, like most Turkish Alawites are able to. Although ethnically Arab, the community leaves little doubt about its strong patriotism for the modern Turkish state and its secular model of government.

When asked whether he felt more loyal to Syria or Turkey, Kemal presented his upturned forearms: "Cut open my veins and I assure you Turkish flags will pour out."

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Lebanon, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Day of Rage, 19 Months of Protests and Deaths

Claimed footage of Syrian forces lining up detainees in Deir Ez Zor Province --- activists claim some of those held were later among 75 dead found in a cemetery on Friday

See also Saturday's Syria, Lebanon (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Will a Beirut Bomb Widen the War?

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2011 GMT: Morocco. Mamfakinch reports that police broke up a protest by the February 20th Movement in Casablanca today before it even began, detaining demonstrators who were gathering.

The website names four of the activists who are still held.

1947 GMT: Lebanon. Scenes from Beirut today, captured by Antoun Issa on his camera phone:

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Syria, Lebanon (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Will a Beirut Bomb Widen the War?

Activists and crew on the Estelle, the Gaza-bound ship of the Freedom Flotilla, which was boarded this morning by Israeli forces

See also Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 44 Dead in Airstrike on Ma'arat al-Numan
Israel-Palestine Live Blog (19 October): A Centre-Left Alternative to Netanyahu?

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1840 GMT: Egypt. France 24 TV says its correspondent in Cairo, Sonia Dridi, was "savagely attacked" near Tahrir Square on Friday night, shortly after a live news report.

The channel said Dridi was rescued by a colleague and other witnesses. The reporter and crew were safe "but extremely shocked".

France 24 said it would file a suit against unspecified assailants.

1720 GMT: Syria. US officials have put out the message, via The Washington Post, that they are stepping up intelligence co-operation and military consultations with Turkey over the Syrian conflict.

In particular, the officials confirmed that Washington was the source of intelligence for Ankara's grounding of a Syrian passenger jet, travelling from Moscow to Damascus, earlier this month. Turkish officials claimed the aircraft was carrying radar and electrical parts for Syria’s Russian-made anti-aircraft systems.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 44 Dead in Airstrike on Ma'arat al-Numan

2250 GMT: Syria. We have to end today's coverage, and we will continue it tomorrow, but it has been a terrible day - in Lebanon, but even more so in Syria.

Still, if two words could summarize the spirit of the Syrian opposition, they might be "brave defiance." Today, despite the shells and gunshots, falling bombs, tanks, and massacres, people still protested.

This video was taken today in Douma, a major suburb of Damascus - the protesters brought the remnants of a cluster bomb to the streets:

But just a few miles away, in the Damascus suburb of Saqba, civilians try to dig their friends and family out of the rubble as shells land and buildings collapse:

Bravery, defiance, and death...

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