Syria Today: US and Russia Manoeuvre Over Support for Assad

1930 GMT: Even Government Sources Admit Baniyas is Different.

The Baniyas massacre on Syria's coast may be a singular event that stands out as being dramatically different than all the other massacres. For starters, the scale of the massacre is at least among the worst of all of Syria's massacres, though some reports suggest that it may be magnitudes worse than any event that has taken place since the start of this crisis. Also, this incident had a clearly sectarian nature to it that is not disputed - Alawite militias loyal to President Assad targeted Sunnis, many of them children, and killed them en masse. In a thorough, nuanced, and eloquent description of the massacre, the New York Times' Anne Barnard and Hania Mourtada point out that the Assad government typically blames civilian deaths on "terrorists" even when their own forces and loyalists are implicated. This time, however, even the government admitted that its people were responsible for a mass killing, though they tell a different tale than Baniyas's residents:

Multiple video images that residents said they had recorded in Bayda and Ras al-Nabeh — of small children lying where they died, some embracing one another or their parents — were so searing that even some government supporters rejected Syrian television’s official version of events, that the army had “crushed a number of terrorists.”

One prominent pro-government writer, Bassam al-Qadi, took the unusual, risky step of publicly blaming loyalist gunmen for the killings and accusing the government of “turning a blind eye to criminals and murderers in the name of ‘defending the homeland.’ “

The article chronicles some of the evidence and eyewitness reports. It also argues that there were those who were trying to break with the sectarian nature of the killings even while the violence was ongoing. In the end, however, it's a must-read article on a story that has been under-reported.

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Syria Today: A Short-Lived Move for Political Talks?

2026 GMT: Rebels Launching Attack in Idlib.

There are reports from every corner of Idlib province that the rebels are in the initial stages of a major offensive against Idlib city and several other Assad strongholds that remain in the province. The offensive is being called "The Retribution for Baniyas," referencing the sectarian massacre that may have claimed hundreds of lives last week. The rebels are reportedly bringing significant amounts of firepower, from Grad rockets to tanks, artillery to mortars, into this fight. We've already seen many videos that reportedly show a significant amount of firepower on the move tonight, though we're still working to verify the locations.

This video reportedly shows a rebel tank attacking an Assad military installation in Idlib:

2008 GMT: US Ambassador inside Syria?

Analysts have been waiting for the arrival of more non-lethal assistance to Syrian rebels from the United States. NPR's Deborah Amos reports that some of that delivery may have arrived, accompanied by the US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford:

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Syria Today: US and Russia Propose New Political Talks

1614 GMT: Al Nusra Behind "Chemical Weapons" Attacks?

There are two developments in the case of the alleged chemical weapons attack in Saraqib. Over the last several days, arms experts we've worked with have become aware that some of the devices found at the site of two chemical weapons sites resemble Indian riot control devices. NBC's Richard Engel reports:

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The device in question, analyzed by EA here, appears to resemble a riot-controlled device developed by an Indian company, "Tear Smoke Unit." We contacted TSU before the Richard Engel report, but have yet to hear back.

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Syria Live: "The Regime Used Chemical Weapons" Campaign

Claimed footage of the destruction of the Ummayad Mosque in Aleppo

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1740 GMT: Chemical Weapons. Two significant updates about our previous story that the US now says Assad has used chemical weapons in Syria....

Danger Room reports that there is clear and unambiguous evidence, based on blood samples of the victims, that sarin gas was used by the Assad regime, according to an unnamed American intelligence official:

“This is more than one organization representing that they have more than one sample from more than one attack,” the source tells Danger Room. “But we can’t confirm anything because no is really sure what’s going on in country.”

What’s clear is that the samples are authentic, and that the weapons were almost certainly employed by the Assad regime, which began months ago mixing up quantities of sarin’s chemical precursors for an potential attack, as Danger Room first reported.

“It would be very, very difficult for the opposition to fake this. Not only would they need the wherewithal to steal it or brew it up themselves. Then they’d need volunteers who would notionally agree to a possibly lethal exposure,” the source adds.

This assessment sounds definitive, as if the US is certain sarin was used. It is also a lot stronger rhetoric than the official statement originally leaked through Secretary of Defense Hagel.

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Syria Analysis: Chemical Weapons, the US, and the Insurgency

The use of chemical weapons or their possession by the "wrong" forces, while genuinely considered a threat by US and European governments, has been used to date to justify the build-up of a multi-national base in Jordan, with training and the supply of weapons to insurgents.

The US Secretary of State, though indirectly and carefully, opens up the prospect: will the chemical weapons argument now be used to escalate that support, possibly moving it into the open?

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Syria Live: International Support for the Insurgency?

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and US Secretary of State John Kerry at Saturday's Friends of Syria meeting

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Saturday's Syria Live: "Terrorists Eliminated by Army Operations"

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1935 GMT: Opposition Criticises Lack of International Action

Moaz al-Khatib, the leader of the Syrian National Opposition Coalition, has confirmed the resignation he announced last month.

A Coalition official said, "Khatib is resigning to denounce the international community's lack of real action on behalf of the Syrian people," after the opposition requested "specific, precise and immediate action to protect Syrian civilians from the use of ballistic missiles and chemical weapons".

Khatib had met US Secretary of State John Kerry before Saturday's Friends of Syria meeting. Kerry announced a doubling of "non-lethal" aid to $120 million from Washington, but it was not enough to satisfy the Coalition.

"The result in Istanbul was less than the Syrian people expected," Hisham Marwa, a senior member of the Coalition, said. "The US said that the use of chemical weapons was a red line for the Assad regime but the regime is using them and nothing has happened. We expected more. Russia sends Assad tonnes of weapons every week."

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Syria Live: "Terrorists Eliminated by Army Operations"

One of State news agency SANA's standard photographs of soldiers "eliminating terrorists"

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Friday's Syria Live: UN Security Council Condemns Violence by Both Sides

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1805 GMT: Aid to Insurgents

US officials have said that Secretary of State John Kerry offered a package of up to $130 million in aid to insurgents at today's Friends of Syria meeting (see 1045 GMT).

The officials said the aid could include body armor, armored vehicles, night vision goggles, and advanced communications equipment.

Earlier this year at a Friends of Syria gathering, in the first US commitment of non-lethal aid, Kerry offered $60 million.

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Israel (and Beyond) Live: A Quiet "Freeze" on Settlement Expansion?

1625 GMT:Egypt. In an apparent show of defiance of a report criticising Egypt's armed forces, President Morsi has promoted several generals.

A Government-commissioned report, portions of which have been leaked, has found that officers killed, tortured and abducted Egyptians during the 2011 uprising against the Mubarak regime and protests over the following two years.

Standing alongside members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Morsi said: "Any insult against the armed forces is an insult against all of us, and we reject any kind of insults....I announce this to the whole world: we appreciate the great role that the armed forces has been playing in maintaining the safety and security of this country."

Morsi promoted three major-generals to the honorific title of lieutenant-general.

As the President listened, the head of the armed forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said:

The armed forces during the last two years was very, very fond of Egypt and the people of Egypt and did not commit any malpractices whatsoever. By God I swear that the army, since 25 January 2011, did not kill and did not order to kill, did not deceive and did not order to deceive.

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Syria Live: A Car Bomb in Damascus

State TV footage of the aftermath of Monday's car bomb in central Damascus

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Monday's Syria Live: The Back-and-Forth Battle in Aleppo

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2142 GMT: Cyber-Attacks. The website of State news agency SANA has apparently been hacked tonight, with the entire service replaced by a generic "Site Under Construction" page.

1616 GMT: Massacre in Homs. In the last week of March we posted evidence of a massacre in Abil, outside of Homs (map). Between 13 and 18 burnt bodies were found in the town, and eyewitnesses said that "shabiha," pro-regime militia, were the culprits.

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UAE (and Beyond) Live: 10 Months in Prison for Tweeting About a Trial

See also Syria Live: A Car Bomb in Damascus
Monday's Syria Live: The Back-and-Forth Battle in Aleppo

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1441 GMT: Egypt. Dutch journalist Rena Netjes was arrested in Cairo on Monday night on allegations of espionage.

Netjes was working on a story when she was apprehended by the owner of a coffee shop, using Egypt's new powers of "citizen's arrest", who had asked to see her press card and passport before taking it to the police.

After spending several hours waiting in the police station, Netjes said the report against her contained erroneous allegations. The report said she was a danger to Egypt and was attempting to spread Western culture.

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