Sunday, December 16, 2012 at 14:24 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran See also Saturday's Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Referendum on the Constitution Begins
2210 GMT: Bahrain. Claimed footage from Sanabis today of shooting at protesters from civilian cars:
People grieve over some of the dozens killed on Wednesday in Jdeidet Artouz near Damascus (see 0515, 0625, and 0705 GMT)
See also Bahrain Opinion: US Needs More Than Words About the Regime
Syria Revealed: Inside the Obama Administration's Discussions About the Insurgency
Syria and Turkey Analysis: Ankara Looks to Iraq's Barzani Amid the "Kurdish Spring"
Wednesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Aleppo --- This Does Not Look Like Regime "Victory"
2042 GMT: Syria. Martin Chulov of The Guardian writes:
FSA colonel told me 1000s of refugees from Idlib &
— Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) August 2, 2012#Aleppo sleeping in fields near Jebel al-Zawiya. "We can't feed them. Help us."
2037 GMT: Bahrain. Footage of police gathering and arresting people in Bilad Qadeem tonight:
Saturday night in the Damascus suburb of Douma, after the visit of United Nations observers (see 0855 GMT)
Bahrain Live Coverage: Prominent Activist Nabeel Rajab Arrested
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "Time to Call It What It Is"
2050 GMT: Syria. A protest in Talbiseh tonight:
1940 GMT: Syria. For the first time, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with Syrian refugees, speaking to them near the border town of Kilis in southeastern Turkey.
"You are getting stronger each passing day," Erdogan said. "Your victory is not far....Bashar [President Assad] is losing blood each passing day,""
About 23,000 Syrians are estimated to now be in Turkish camps, having fled since the start of the uprising in March 2011.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 11:10 | James Miller in Africa, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 1946 GMT: Yemen. An airstrike has killed another 15 Al-Qaeda linked militants today, another major strike in an escalating campaign against Islamic radicals in the country:
The officials said the air attack targeted the militants' camp north of the town of Jaar in the southern province of Abyan. It coincided with a Yemeni government offensive against the militants.
On Monday, 17 al-Qaida militants were killed in a two-pronged attack by military units and civilians who took up arms against al-Qaida south of the town of Lawder. Two civilians and a military officer were also killed in the fighting.
1928 GMT: Egypt. A potentially historic announcement from Egypt's ruling military. Al Jazeera reports:
Egypt's military council said the army may transfer power to an elected president on May 24, much sooner than expected.
• The announcement came after 11 people were killed in clashes during an anti-military protest.
• Meanwhile, thousands of people are still gathering in central Cairo.
Sondos AsemSondos Asem has butterflies, formulating answers to questions she expects to be asked and practicing her diction with the devotion of a high school debate champion. The gentle 24-year-old graduate student at the American University in Cairo is in a hotel room in downtown New York, figuring out what to wear on national television. ("This blazer would look good, right?" "Should I wear more color?")
Like many young Egyptians, she's been tweeting the fallout after the 2011 uprising that brought down former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The stakes are higher than 140-character dispatches might suggest. Asem has emerged as an unlikely unofficial spokeswoman for the Muslim Brotherhood, helping to run its English-language Twitter feed, @Ikhwanweb, and in turn revamp the group's image in the West.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 10:37 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran A demonstration in front of the Grand Mosque in the Damascus suburb of Douma on Tuesday night
See also Middle East and Iran Videos: 4 Activists on Women's Rights After the "Arab Spring"
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 65 Dead Amidst Manoeuvres for Talks
2110 GMT: Kuwaiti authorities arrested a man late on Tuesday for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed on his Twitter account.
The man, whose name was not disclosed, defamed the Islamic faith and slandered the Prophet Mohammed, his companions and his wife, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement issued on state-run news agency KUNA. He is being interrogated ahead of court proceedings.
The ministry saiid that it “regretted the abusing of social networks by some individuals to offend basic Islamic and spiritual values, vowing to show zero tolerance in combating such serious offences”.
In September a Kuwaiti court convicted a man for insulting Gulf rulers and posting inflammatory sectarian comments on social media, but he was released immediately because of time already served while awaiting trial.
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 22:00 | Scott Lucas in EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 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:
2141 GMT: Large protests have lasted well into the night in many cities across Syria. This video was one of the more impressive ones, reportedly showing a protest in the Bab Qebli neighborhood of Hama:
2115 GMT: It has been another extremely bloody day in Syria, as the LCCS is now reporting 33 people killed by security forces, "including 2 children and a defected recruit and 2 men who died under torture. 11 martyrs in Homs, 9 martyrs in Idlib, 6 martyrs in Daraa, 3 in Damascus Suburbs and a martyr in each of BoKamal, Raqqa, Damascus and Hasakeh."
The steepest escalation since the last report is in Homs, where reports of heavy attacks have been reported, perhaps in response to a new wave of defections in the city.
Also, the civilian who was killed in Damascus was reportedly, killed in a protest near the Mujtahed Hospital in Midan. This video was taken, reportedly showing the protest:
Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 11:37 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Clashes on Saturday in AlEker in Bahrain, from police dispersing a funeral procession --- with detentions of youths and pushing of women --- to young people forcing the security forces to flee (see also 0814 GMT)
See also Syria Interview: Kurdish Leader Abdulhakim Bashar "We Demand the Right to Self-Determination"
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Exclusive in Zabadani, A Rally in the Kingdom
2200 GMT: The Arab League has put forth a political roadmap for Syria, with President Assad delegating power to a deputy and setting up a unity government as a prelude to early Parliamentary and Presidential elections.
The League called on Assad to open discussions with other groups, including the opposition, within two weeks on the intiative. The new government would be formed within two months, electing a council that will write a Constitution and prepare for the elections.
Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani told a news conference, after the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, that the League would ask for the enforcement of the UN Security Council.
One observer, journalist Blake Hounshell, has noted the plan is similar to the approach taken by the Gulf Co-operation Council to resolve the Yemen crisis. The GCC put forth its call to President Saleh to transfer power in spring 2011; Saleh finally agreed in November and said today that he is leaving for the US for medical treatment.
2054 GMT: This video was reportedly taken in Musayfira, Daraa today, where the people chanted, "Your silence is killing us, we have no one but God," and "The people want the execution of the President."
We don't know if Arab League observers saw this specific rally, but a video posted by a prominent blogger shows an old woman speaking to one of the observers, reportedly in Musayfira.
2040 GMT: Where is the teargas in Bahrain? Initial reports were that it was on the Country Mall roundabout, on Budaya Highway. However, a contact in Sanad village says that he can smell the gas, and that roundabout is very far away (general map of area). Teargas is also reported at the Buri Roundabout in Hamad Town, across the island.
