Syria Video Special: The Dead, Dying, and Injured in Homs

WARNING: GRAPHIC

After much discussion, we are posting a series of videos from Khalidiya in Homs, where hundreds of people were killed in an overnight attack by regime forces. The images are disturbing, but we believe that some visual idea of the loss of life should be given.

There are even bloodier videos that we have decided not to publish.

Dead, dying, and injured men in a make-shift hospital in a mosque in Khalidiya, Homs:

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Egypt, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Triple Feature of Protest

Daily News Egypt reports on Friday's protests

See also Syria Feature: Can the Opposition Get Its Act Together?
Thursday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Regime Strikes Back

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2034 GMT: At least 4 people have been killed by police in Egypt, according to Al Jazeera:

At least two people have been shot and killed in the Egyptian city of Suez, as police used live rounds to hold back crowds during a protest over security forces' failure to prevent a deadly football riot.

Two protesters were killed in Cairo just feet away from the Interior Ministry, as police in Cairo set off salvos of tear gas and fired birdshot, and one soldier was killed on Friday when a riot police truck backed into him.

Witnesses in Suez said fighting broke out at a local police station in the northeastern city in the early hours of Friday, hours after the two protesters were killed.

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Iran Snap Analysis: The Supreme Leader --- Strong Abroad, Weak at Home

The Latest from Iran (3 February): The Supreme Leader's Friday Prayer

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If the Supreme Leader was firm in his presentation of the overseas front, he was fumbling and on the point of weakness over Iran's political and economic tensions.

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The Latest from Iran (3 February): The Supreme Leader's Friday Prayer

Minister of Education Haji Babaei and the Cardboard Imam (see 1741 GMT)

See also Iran Snap Analysis: The Supreme Leader --- Strong Abroad, Weak at Home
Iran Feature: How Tehran's "Islamic Awakening" Lost Its Arab Spring
The Latest from Iran (2 February): Will There Be Protests on 25 Bahman?

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1800 GMT: Food Watch. Up to five vessels, out of 10 ships waiting off Iran for up to three weeks with 400,000 tonnes of grain, have now diverted to Qatar, the UAE, and Singapore.

The ships could not or would not off-load their cargoes because of payment difficulties amidst US-led sanctions.

"There is no prohibition on discharging cargoes (in Iran) but they can't because they have not been paid. Some will be trying to find other buyers now," a trade source said.

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Syria Feature: Can the Opposition Get Its Act Together? (Vela)

Opposition members at launch of Syrian National Council (Photo: AP)Omar Muqdad can usually be found smoking and drinking coffee all night in an empty room in Istanbul or Ankara. As a longtime Syrian activist, he can access senior Syrian opposition leaders, as well as their network of supporters around the world, with a phone call. He enjoys a sterling reputation among the activists and defected soldiers who risk their lives daily along the Turkey-Syria border.

But over the months, Muqdad's frustration with the Syrian National Council (SNC), the body intended to serve as the political representation of the Syrian opposition, has grown. He has diligently traveled around Turkey, arranging coverage of the Syrian uprising by major media outlets, holding meetings in Western embassies, and coordinating with activists inside the country. In the meantime, he has come to see the SNC as disorganized, disconnected from the Syrians on the ground, and out of step with the broad spectrum of Syrian society.

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Iran Feature: How Tehran's "Islamic Awakening" Lost Its Arab Spring (Worth)

It was meant to be a crowning moment in which Iran put its own Islamic stamp on the Arab Spring. More than a thousand young activists were flown here earlier this week (at government expense) for a conference on “the Islamic Awakening,” Tehran’s effort to re-brand the popular Arab uprisings of the past year.

As delegates flooded into a vast auditorium next to a space needle in western Tehran, a screen showed images of the Iranian revolution in 1979, morphing seamlessly into footage of young Arab protesters in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen.

But there was a catch. No one was invited from Syria, whose autocratic president, Bashar al-Assad, is a crucial Iranian ally.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Regime Strikes Back

2200 GMT: Meanwhile, large evening protests are reported in Raqqa, Syria. This video is reportedly from one of those protests:

2150 GMT: The rocks in this picture used to be a fairly high wall on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, surrounding the Interior Ministry. This is all that is left, according to activists Tweeting from the street:

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The Latest from Iran (2 February): Will There Be Protests on 25 Bahman?

See also Iran Caption Competition: What Would a 6-Foot (Cardboard) Ayatollah Khomeini Say?
The Latest from Iran (1 February): Is the Supreme Leader Fretting About Syria?

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2130 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). Yet another sign of Tehran's concern at developments in Damascus (see 1435 GMT)....

Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran is “astonished and confused” by the failure of the Arab League mission in Syria, blaming a lack of willingness on the part of Arab states for the breakdown.

“The observers went to Syria, where they worked for over a month, presented a balanced report, and they were supposed to continue their mission," Salehi said. “We are astonished and confused. We do not understand why the Arab League halted the work of observers who agreed to continue with their mission and chose to go to the Security Council instead."

Salehi indicated Tehran's reliance on Beijing and Moscow, saying he believes both will continue to support both Iran and Syria in the face of Western pressure. He tried to minimise any differences with Ankara: "Regarding Syria, our Turkish brothers have their own opinions. They want the reforms to happen quickly, not slowly."

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MENA Feature: Tribalism in the Arabian Peninsula --- It's A Family Affair (Al Qassemi)

The Emir of QatarAcross the Arabian Peninsula and stretching well into North Africa and Sudan, there is a common bond, perhaps only behind religion and language in importance, that binds Arabic language speakers together. Museums across the Gulf proudly display lineage maps illustrating the family trees of ruling members, linking them through lines and photos from bygone centuries up to the current leader. Major financial institutions in Dubai and Bahrain display in their offices large-scale maps detailing prominent ruling family members of the Gulf States and their marital, government, and business affiliations. Tribalism in modern day Arabia is alive and well.

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Egypt Feature: 70+ Die in Football Violence --- What Next? (Trew)

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Ultras groups [of football supporters] have called for mass marches on Thursday in protest of the behaviour of Egypt's security forces during Masry-Ahly league match, which saw over 70 Ahly fans killed in the bloodiest night in Egypt's football history

Thousands gathered at Ramses train station, downtown Cairo, in the early hours of Thursday morning to meet beleaguered Ahly fans coming back from Masry-Ahly league match following Egypt’s worst football disaster.

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