Syria Live Coverage: Opposition Gathers to Name A Prime Minister

Claimed footage of insurgents hitting a regime tank in Idlib Province

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2110 GMT: Damascus. An opposition Facebook page has claimed "a number of 120mm heavy caliber mortars...in a joint operation coordinated with battalions operating in Damascus".

Targets included the Presidential Palace, Damascus International Airport, and security buildings.

"The operation comes in conjunction with the second anniversary of the start of our revolution, which is a revolution of freedom and dignity against the despotic regime of the criminal Bashar al-Assad," the statement said.

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Syria Live Coverage: The Saudi Support of the Insurgency

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Mubarak's Police Behind Almost 900 Killings of Protesters in 2011 Uprising
Wednesday's Syria Live Coverage: Turkish Special Forces Enter the Country

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Anhar Kocheva (see 0815 GMT)1935 GMT: Death Toll Rises. According to the Local Coordination Committees, today's death toll has risen to 126:

35 martyrs were reported in Tal Brak in Hasakeh in a massacre that was committed by the regime forces; 34 in Damascus and its Suburbs; 18 in Daraa, 11 in Homs; 11 in Aleppo; 6 in Raqqa; 5 in Hama; 4 in Idlib; 1 in Qunaitera; and 1 in Jableh.

See our note about the casualty numbers published by the LCC.

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Syria Live Coverage: 21 UN Peacekeepers Freed

Release of 21 United Nations peacekeepers at the Jordanian border on Saturday

See also Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting in Cairo Kills 3 After Port Said Court Verdicts
Saturday's Syria Live Coverage: Regime Shelling Prevents Release of 21 UN Peacekeepers

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1826 GMT: View from a Regime Tank. "Tank's-eye" footage of the devasted Damascus suburb of Darayya:

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Syria Live Coverage: Opposition Leaders Cancel Trip to Washington --- Why?

1950 GMT: Friday Protests. With UN kidnappings and Damascus on fire, it's easy to lose the fact that today is Friday, and every Friday for almost two whole years there have been widespread protests. Today's protest theme roughly translates to "Your sectarian state will not pass," but that's a literally translation. Essentially, it means "Assad's sectarian state will not happen," a reference to Assad's efforts to stoke sectarian tensions, and a reference to the world's tendency to classify this conflict in purely sectarian terms.

An impressive rally today in Yabroud, north of Damascus (map). This area is on the edge of both rebel-controlled territory and some of the most substantial military bases in the Middle East, and is often attacked by regime airpower:

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Syria Live Coverage: Insurgent Brigade Kidnaps 21 UN Peacekeepers

2110 GMT: Idlib Town Bombed. Hish, a small town in southern Idlib province (map), is near where one of the aircraft below was reportedly shot down. Now, that town has been heavily bombed. According to this video, this shows the aftermath of a "barrel bomb," but whatever it is the devastation is readily apparent. As the video rolls, there is another large explosion off to the right:

2046 GMT: Assad Aircraft Shot Down. Many videos are floating around today that reportedly show two different jet fighters shot down over Idlib province. In one video, we see a large gun fire, though it is unclear if that is the road that supposedly hit the aircraft. What's interesting is that the black smoke trail is both blacker and wider than a typical contrail. There are other videos from other angles. We'd caution, however, that none of the videos shows the planes hit the ground, and none of them show any wreckage. Those videos may surface later:

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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 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 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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Syria Live Coverage: Civilian Deaths in Aleppo

The destruction in the Al-Bab section of Aleppo

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Saturday's Syria Live Coverage: Opposition Boycotts International Talks Over Aleppo Deaths

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1816 GMT: Regime Strike. At the end of this clip, a direct hit on an insurgent truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Khan al-Asal in Aleppo Province:

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