Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Surge in Protest, A Constant Shelling

Saturday's funeral march for Hussam Alhadad in Bahrain

See also Bahrain Special: The Killing of Hussam AlHaddad and the Unanswered Questions
Bahrain Interview: Activist Said Yousif on His Beating and Detention
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "This is What Aleppo Has Become"

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2020 GMT: Syria. The most interesting reports from the LCC today involve Lattakia, Syria's premier port city which is often considered the heart of Assad's power and from where the President's family hails. The city is majority Sunni, with a sizable population of Alawites, Christians, and other minorities, and the rural areas are even more diverse.

We have seen protests and violence in the mountains far to the east, but it has been a long time since there has been this much violence in the city itself. According to some activists, there were post-prayer protests today, disrupted by security forces. According to the LCC, the Qunainis district (map), in the centre of the city, was stormed by security forces who sealed off the neighborhood and made many arrests.

The LCC also reports violence in the Maroniate village to the east (map). The village was reportedly shelled, and this video claims to show damage to the local mosque:

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Syria Video Feature: Re-Visiting the Mass Killing in Houla (Al-Ken)

Mahmoud Al-Ken of Al Jazeera English adds another investigative account --- see, for example, "Searching for the Truth of the Mass Killing in Houla" --- of May's attack on civilians in Houla in Homs Province by regime supporters. More than 100 people, many of them children, perished.

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) Live Coverage: Almost 25,000 Dead as the United Nations Departs

1902 GMT: Syria. The must-watch video of the day. Sometimes, videos coming from Syria have an almost meditative element to them, as if so much can be learned from a single video. This is one of those instances.

This is Saleh el Dine, an upper-middle class commercial district in Aleppo. This is the kind of neighborhood you'd find near a major university in London, or Boston, filled with over-priced apartments, upper-class residents, students, coffee shops... the kind of place that ranges from peaceful to bustling depending on the time of day.

In this video it is neither peaceful or bustling. The neighborhood is more like hauntingly deserted, with the distant echo of war faintly heard in the background. The silence is stunning. Periodic gunfire can be heard, then a helicopter which is later seen overhead.

Suddenly, however, a massive explosion, as a bomb or a shell lands too close to the camera.

But after the excitement, the haunting stillness returns. This is what Aleppo has become.

1838 GMT: Syria. We have hundreds of videos of protests, but we'll share a few more of the larger ones. In the first the cameraman says this is Darayya, and he says today's date. Darayya is southwest of Damascus (map), has been fought over for weeks, and is one of the areas that some analysts believe the Free Syrian Army will eventually try to take in order to strike from there at the capital:

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Syria Feature: How to Get Reliable News from the Confusion of Conflict (Miller/Sienkenwicz)

Security forces raid Aleppo University --- posted on EA on 5 June 2012

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Coverage of the post-election protests in Iran in 2009, a key precursor to the current crisis in Syria, powerfully illustrates the difficulty inherent in working with non-traditional sources at such great distances. While much of the citizen journalism covering the Green Revolution of 2009 was accurate and insightful, significant portions of it were impossible to verify. Some elements, even more problematically, we produced for the very purpose of sowing confusion. For example, in the face of severe government restrictions on traditional journalism, opponents of the Iranian regime, such as the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, resorted to faking videos and republishing old videos with new dates in an effort to supply evidence of the regime’s imminent demise. The Iranian government and its supporters were equally dishonest, faking their own videos and paying bloggers to leave positive comments on Facebook pages and Western news stories. This cacophony of misinformation drowned out and thus neutralized the impact of much of the difficult, dangerous work being done by honest Iranian citizen journalists.

Three years later, Syrian citizens, working in concert with a global network of web journalists, have crafted a system that helps ameliorate these concerns. A complex process now goes into producing, collecting, organizing—and verifying—the countless digital puzzle pieces that tell the story of the Syrian Civil War.

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Syria Audio Feature: "Assessing An Airstrike on Azaz" --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

Photo: Goran Tomasevic (Reuters)I spoke with Monocle 24's The Briefing at lunchtime about the Syrian airstrike on the town of Azaz that killed at least 45 people. To consider the political and military significance, I noted other events such as the insurgents' discovery of the regime's Iran-supplied drones and their capture of anti-aircraft guns and a portable air-defence system. 

The take-away line? The regime, in an increasingly difficult position, is stepping up its bombardment, but the insurgents have better weapons. That brings the prospect of a more intense conflict this autumn.

Given that, we chatted about the prospect of an internationally-supported no-fly zone. We also discussed developments in Lebanon, in the context of kidnappings of opposition members by the al-Moqdad family, and the possibility of spiralling conflict.

To listen, go to the homepage of The Briefing, click Play on the 16/8 programme, and start at the 7:37 mark.

The Latest from Iran (16 August): Hey, Look Over at Palestine!

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Earthquakes to Islamic Law in Outer Space
The Latest from Iran (15 August): Ahmadinejad in Saudi Arabia

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1609 GMT: Campus Watch. We have been reporting recently on the exclusion of women from university programmes (see 1141 GMT) --- well, here's a twist....

The Nursing Association has complained, "The decision to eliminate male applicants for nursing is shocking and against national policies and patients' needs."

1600 GMT: Economy Watch. Ali Pourkaveh of the Ministry of Industry has claimed that the stockpiling of 24 essential goods is nearly finished.

Earlier this month President Ahmadinejad called for a three-month stockpile of rice, sugar, cooking fat, and other commodities.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Bombings, Kidnappings, Iranian Drones, A Captured MANPAD....

1910 GMT: Syria. Contrary to popular opinion, there is still plenty of fighting in the Salleh el Dine district of Aleppo:

The battle lines have not changed very much in recent days. In places like Saleh el Dine, the FSA is not making an effort to establish permanent control, as they were last week, but because of this they are still able to enter the district, conduct ambush or "hit and run" style attacks, and prevent further Assad military incursions.

Also, despite all the violence in the city, primarily characterized by intense bombing and shelling campaigns, the majority of the city is still in partial or total FSA control, and there are almost no areas where the regime has been able to effectively send in tanks.

1850 GMT: Syria. The LCC has now raised their death toll to 197. At least 60 of those deaths were reported in Qatana (map), where 60-65 bodies have reportedly been found, some of them burning, in the local landfill. A low-quality video claims to show some of the bodies.

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The Latest from Iran (15 August): Ahmadinejad in Saudi Arabia

See also Iran Feature: Facebook and the Earthquakes
The Latest from Iran (14 August): Recovering from an Earthquake

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1955 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. About 25 political prisoners have reportedly been released today --- those freed include Nazanin Khosravani, Ali Malihi, Qasem Shole Saadi, Hamzeh Karami, Shahab Dehghan, Amir Maghamifar, and Sarang Ettehadi.

1630 GMT: The Earthquakes. The Supreme Leader's office has announced that it will give 1/3 of the donations sent to Ayatollah Khamenei during Ramadan to earthquake victims.

But the opposition website Kalemeh claims there are problems that may not be resolved by this --- it says the Revolutionary Guards have taken over control in the affected area, grabbing aid from teams providing assistance and leaving people angry about unequal distribution.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Wearing Down the Regime?

Insurgents in Talbiseh, north of Homs, take control of a captured T-62 tank

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2207 GMT: Syria. Today has been one of the bloodiest days in weeks, according to the Local Coordinating Committees. They report that 205 people have been killed today by Assad forces:

90 martyrs were reported in Aleppo (most in Izzaz), 42 in Damascus and its Suburbs (including 6 who were executed in Douma, 6 in Qaboun neighborhood and 11 who were executed in Razi Orchids), 26 martyrs in Idlib, 29 in Homs (among them 6 martyrs from one family in Deir Baalbeh neighborhood), 7 in Daraa, 8 in Deir Ezzor, 2 in Hama and 1 in Quneitra.

This death toll includes insurgents and civilians, but does not include regime security forces or "shabiha," pro-Assad paramilitary militia. Syrian State media has long since stopped recording the regime's own deathtoll.

What is striking may be the high death toll from Azaz, which was hit by massive air raids earlier today, butthe deaths were widespread, with four provinces reporting deaths in double digits.

2145 GMT: Syria. The video claim of the day:

FSA capture a MANPAD, 4 anti-aircraft guns and hundreds of boxes of ammunition in Dumair, #Damascus youtube.com/watch?v=ADBqZb… #Syria

—   (@HamaEcho) August 15, 2012

For the uninitiated, a "MANPAD" is a "Man-portable air-defense system" --- a weapon system capable of knocking helicopters and planes, possibly even Assad jet fighters, out of the sky. There has been another video of such a weapon in FSA possession, but that was an isolated case in Homs. This video claims to show a weapons depot in Dumair (map), a location east of Damascus where the Free Syrian Army is strong and is growing stronger. The capital city is most vulnerable from the east, and the southwest, so a weapons cache this large, especially one containing this kind of ordinance, could pose a significant threat.

The anti-aircraft guns are also valuable to the FSA. A lesser weapon was apparently responsible for shooting a MIG 23 out of the sky in Deir Ez Zor, so these weapons have proven to be effective. These guns would be even more effective at destroying the feared helicopters that Assad's military has so effectively used against FSA positions in the last several weeks. But these guns can also be used against ground targets, and even light armour.

Beyond this, the fact that the Free Syrian Army is capturing more and more ordnance from regime bases and arms depots is another sign that the FSA is growing stronger, and in many areas has the upper hand. Even if one MANPAD, 4 AA guns, many RPGs, dozens of small arms, and thousands of rounds of ammunition is not enough to fuel a whole war, it is enough to help resupply an insurgent fighting force whose largest limitation may be logistics. It is also enough to serve as a morale boost for the FSA, and serve the opposite purpose for the Assad military.

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