Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "This is What Aleppo Has Become"

Saleh ed Dine in Aleppo in Syria on Friday

See also Syria Video Feature: Re-Visiting the Mass Killing in Houla
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Almost 25,000 Dead as the United Nations Departs

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1915 GMT: Syria. Claimed footage of a demonstration today in central Damascus:

1715 GMT: Bahrain. The funeral procession for Hussam Alhamad, killed overnight by police amid clashes in Muharraq:

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Syria (and Beyond): A Downed Jet Grabs the Headlines

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1940 GMT: Turkey. Insurgents of the PKK have released Hüseyin Aygün, an MP of the opposition Republican People's Party, whom they abducted on Sunday.

1900 GMT: Syria. The National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria has released a statement suggesting that the UN should facilitate another ceasefire in order to achieve peace and preserve what is left of the country:

The great sacrifices that the Syrian people has been able to balance out the power of the regime, but it is still far from achieving a victory because of the international balance of powers that refuses to see the victory of one side over the other. The stalemate makes the continuation of the violence merely a path to the destruction of the Syrian state, society and being.

In order to minimize the painful cost of the desired change, and to protect what can be protected from our country’s infrastructure and our national unity, we at the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, which is an active part of the Syrian popular movement against oppression and one of the main forces against violence and foreign intervention, propose the following:

First- That all armed parties, the regime at the forefront of them, have to agree to a temporary ceasefire to be implemented as soon as possible, hopefully before the beginning of the Eid al-Fitr holiday. All parties are to agree not to conduct any military operations and not to attempt any changes to the current situation on the ground.

Second- During the first week of the truce, both parties are to release their detainees, captives, prisoners, hostages and the kidnapped, and to cease all such actions from then on. All such actions from then be treated as a criminal offence, their perpetrators are to be punished by law.

Third- The two parties are to allow relief agencies to deliver food and medical aid, and they are also to facilitate the treatment of the wounded in public and private hospitals under the auspices of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Fourth- If the parties concerned implement the earlier points, then the atmosphere for a political solution will be present. Negotiations are then to take place between members of the opposition and a delegation from the regime, the delegation is to have full negotiating authority and has to consist of members that have not been responsible for any bloodshed. The negotiators are to agree on a state of political transition with a definite period -one year- that is to prepare the country for a democratic, pluralistic parliamentary system.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Away from the Headlines, "Only" 126 Dead on Sunday

2059 GMT: Syria. Since dawn there have been reports of renewed shelling of central Homs. Here are just two videos from Juret al Shiyah that give an idea of the intensity of the shelling (map):

1928 GMT: Syria. This was reportedly taken earlier today and shows tanks raiding Kafer Naboudeh, north of Hama (Map):

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Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Vote of Uncertainty

See also Syria 1st-Hand: A Day's Existence in Homs
Saturday's Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Vote in Cairo, Violence beyond Damascus

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2055 GMT: Yemen. Government official says insurgents have abandoned one of the last cities that they have held in the south for more than a year.

The Ansar al-Sharia fighters pulled out of Azzan in Shabwa Province in the face of bombardments and airstrikes in a US-backed Government offensive.

2030 GMT: Syria. Ahmed Bahaddou, a video journalist working for The Associated Press, has been wounded while filming clashes between insurgents and regime forces in northern Syria.

Bahaddou, a Belgian citizen, was struck in the shoulder and evacuated to London. He is in stable condition.

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Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Election in Cairo, Conflict Beyond Damascus

1924 GMT: Syria. Speaking of gasoline, scenes like the one below, reportedly taken today in Kanaker, Damascus, are increasingly common. The prices of refined gasoline and diesel have skyrocketed, and widespread shortages are reported. The government claims that the shortages are the result of sanctions, but as Robert Ford points out (in the previous update) refined oil was exempt from foreign sanctions in order to avoid this problem. These shortages are the result of the military using up all the fuel.

1835 GMT: Syria. The Syrian government claims that foreign economic sanctions have cost the country $4 billion, a number which is low, according to many other estimates:

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Yemen, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Suicide Bombing in Sana'a

Al Jazeera's report on Monday on the suicide bombing in Yemen

See also Bahrain Live Coverage: Appearing Before the UN Human Rights Council
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Amidst the Assassination Rumors, 60 Die
Turkey Live Coverage (21 May): Regional and Global Dimensions of "Terrorism"

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1735 GMT: Libya. Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said Tuesday that Tunis will soon extradite former Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi, after detaining him for eight months.

Al-Mahmoudi was arrested in September for illegally crossing the frontier into Tunisia as he tried to flee to Algeria.

"Tunisia will never be a refuge for those who represent a threat to Libya's security," said Jebali on Tuesday, following a visit by his Libyan counterpart, Abdurrahim el-Keib.

Lawyers and human rights groups had opposed the extradition, saying Al-Mahmoudi might be harmed by Libya's new ruling authorities.

1730 GMT: Syria. The Local Co-ordination Committees of Syria says 13 people have died today: three each in Hama, Deir Ez Zor, and Daraa Provinces, two in Homs Province, and one each in Aleppo and Idlib Provinces.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Pause in the Conflict?

A Saturday evening demonstration in the Khamidiya section of Homs, including the children of those who have died in the 14-month conflict

One of a series of photos of fighting in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime --- at least four people died (see 0905, 0955, and 1603 GMT)

See also Syria Snapshot: Assad's Supporters Clash With Kurds --- But Can the Kurds Unite?
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Bahrain Live Coverage: Challenging the US Arms Sale
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Uneasy Frontline

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1733 GMT: Lebanon. A sit-in demonstration at Aleppo University today:

1603 GMT: Lebanon. Witnesses and officials say at least four people, including a Lebanese soldier, were killed and another 24 injured in the overnight fighting in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between residents for and against the Assad regime (see 0905 and 0955 GMT).

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Relative "Calm"?

Syrian security forces fire on students at Aleppo University, killing at least four (see 1015 GMT)

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2015 GMT: Syria. Back from a break to find confirmation that Alepppo University, after the death of four students at the hands of regime forces and arrests of dozens more, has suspended classes for 10 days:

Dear students, due to the current situation, classes of theory-based majors will be suspended until the beginning of exams.

Classes of practice-based majors and institutes will be suspended until 13-5-2012, in order for the practice-based exams to take place.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Grand Prix Protests

Wednesday's night mass protest in the Damascus suburb of Irbeen

See also Yemen Feature: CIA Seeks Authority to Expand Drone Programme
Morocco Analysis: Why Did the Moroccan Uprising Not Rise?
Syria Feature: Activists to Insurgents "We Want Our Revolution Back"
Bahrain Video Special: Activists Declare "No Formula 1 in A Bloody Kingdom"
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Wednesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Appealing to Damascus

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2130 GMT: As reported earlier, many journalists have been denied entry into Bahrain to cover the F1. Earlier this evening, a team from Sky News, intending to cover the humanitarian and political situation in Bahrain, were likewise denied entry. EA understands that the team is now back in Dubai and remain intent on gaining entry into Bahrain to see for themselves the situation on the ground.

The Sky News team was headed by Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay who has been tweeting about the experience and his frustration with the Bahrain authorities:

Sky news denied access to report from f1 in bahrain #Bahrain

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

Govt refuses to explain why I can't come in

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

We are excluded without redress but have asked to represent all sides

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

#Bahrain govt welcomes f1 but not independent journalists who actually understand the complexity of this issue

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

I asked to report on the country not the F1 and they know that come on your excellencies grow up

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

1959 GMT: Multiple journalists, from news Agencies such as AFP and AP, have been denied entry into Bahrain to cover the F1 race:

Associated Press said two of its Dubai-based journalists were prevented from covering the Grant Prix because they could not receive entry visas, despite being accredited by the FIA.

Meanwhile, cameramen already in Bahrain were required to keep fluorescent orange stickers on their cameras so that they would be easily recognisable to ensure they do not cover any off-track events, such as ongoing protests.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Deadline? What Deadline?

Iranian cartoonist Maya Neyestani on the Syrian crisis

See also Bahrain Propaganda 101: Former Times Editor, Turned PR Man, Tries to Sell the Regime's Grand Prix
Turkey Live Coverage (11 April): Erdogan Taking the Lead on Syria?
Tuesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Deadline Passes as 160 Die

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2033 GMT: The White House has issued a general statement about Bahrain, with specific reference to the condition of detained activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who is on Day 63 of a hunger strike:

The United States continues to be deeply concerned about the situation in Bahrain, and we urge all parties to reject violence in all its forms. We condemn the violence directed against police and government institutions, including recent incidents that have resulted in serious injuries to police officers. We also call on the police to exercise maximum restraint, and condemn the use of excessive force and indiscriminate use of tear gas against protestors, which has resulted in civilian casualties.

We continue to underscore, both to the government and citizens of Bahrain, the importance of working together to address the underlying causes of mistrust and to promote reconciliation. In this respect, we note our continued concern for the well-being of jailed activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and call on the Government of Bahrain to consider urgently all available options to resolve his case. More broadly, we urge the government to redouble its ongoing efforts to implement the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, and renew our call for the government, opposition parties, and all segments of Bahraini society to engage in a genuine dialogue leading to meaningful reforms that address the legitimate aspirations of all Bahrainis.

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