Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Deadly Car Bomb in Damascus

A petrol station in the Barzeh area of Damascus, destroyed by a car bomb on Thursday night

See also Bahrain Audio Feature: Why the Detention of Photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan Matters --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
Thursday's Syria (and Beyond) Coverage: UN --- Death Toll Passes 60,000

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2107 GMT: Syria. The head of the insurgency's military command, Brigadier Selim Idris, has denied reports that his troops possess chemical weapons and intend to respond in kind if the Syrian regime uses them.

The political adviser of the Free Syrian Army, Bassam al-Dada, said on Wednesday that insurgents could put together components of chemical weapons and use them if necessary.

“In our faith, we can't use such a weapon,” even if the regime attacked with it, Idris said. "We will not try to acquire them, will definitely not produce them or facilitate their production."

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: From Houla to Douma

2039 GMT: Syria. In Damascus, there are protests reported in multiple areas, but heavy gunfire reported in far more areas. The reports, from so many sources, are pouring in at this late hour - it will be a long night for Syria's capital.

2032 GMT: Syria. Meanwhile, protests continue, in the heart of Aleppo, and the heart of Damascus:

#Aleppo: protesters in #Khaldiyeh district chanting in solidarity with the suburbs of Aleppo tonight 5-6-2012youtube.com/watch?v=RHTDS8…#Syria

— Zilal (@zilal1) June 5, 2012

Protest in Kafarsouseh neighborhood of #Damascus tonight. Vid: youtube.com/watch?v=sQA8-o… #Syria twitpic.com/9t6acn

— Free Syrian (Sami) (@HamaEcho) June 5, 2012

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Conflict In the Capital?

An armoured anti-aircraft gun fires at unknown targets in the Damascus suburb of Douma on Saturday

See also Syria 1st-Hand Feature: So While You Were Sleeping....
James Miller speaks to Al Jazeera about the Free Syrian Army
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More Opposition, in More Places

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1805 GMT: A Turkish court has imprisoned five people suspected of turning over Colonel Hussein Harmush, who defected and established an insurgent brigade in Turkey, to Syrian authorities.

The defendants include a member of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT). They are being investigated for “political espionage” and for deprivation of liberty of Harmush and another man who were allegedly taken from a refugee camp near the Syrian border “by force” and handed over to Syrian security forces.

In June 2011, Harmush became the first Syrian military officer to publicly declare his opposition to the Assad regime. He then established the Brigade of Free Officers.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurrection?

See also, Syria Video Special: Free Syrian Army Captures Iranian Soldiers

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2133 GMT: Bahraini police have released claimed footage, released by Bahraini police, of 17-year-old Mohammad Ebrahim (see 0555 and 1700 GMT), who was allegedly hit by a police jeep on Wednesday and later died in hospital.

The video shows an alert Ebrahim, but he is in great discomfort, apparently from pain in his lower body, and needs to rest on the person next to him; also pain seems to be stemming from lower part.

This would appear to match up with the video we posted this morning, where Ebrahim appears to be limping away after being struck by the police jeep.

Curiously, the video --- like the one released by police earlier this month in which they denied beating activist Nabeel Rajab --- has no sound, limiting what we can learn of the incident.

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Western Journalists Inside Syria: A Video Record of Everyday Crimes

Did Assad order his loyalists to shoot? Is he guilty of crimes against humanity? These questions will not be answered here. But we can venture from this footage if these forces --- not under his control, according to the President --- responsible for human rights abuses, atrocities, and civilian casualties on a wide scale.

Assad --- "Indiviual Mistakes" Led to Deaths

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Syria Video Special: "We'll Continue until the Regime is Toppled"

Today was busy, and with so many dramatic pictures, videos, and nuggets of news, the scale of the protests can easily be overlooked. In the liveblog, we have focused on the violence, but what occurred this Friday, like many others, was another mass demonstration of peaceful protesters, in nearly every corner of the country, demanding the resignation of those responsible for the violence.

See Also, Syria, Bahrain, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Watching the Protests

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7. Homs at Night

6. Homs by Day

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