Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Nailing Jelly to the Wall

Syria Snap Analysis: "This Regime Crackdown Cannot Be Sustained"
Bahrain Propaganda 101: The Regime Rewrites A Speech by Britain's Foreign Secretary
Israel Special: How Gilad Shalit Saved Prime Minister Netanyahu

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1935 GMT: The New York Times is now covering the story that we reported earlier of Saudi blogger Feras Bugnah, who was arrested for his a documentary "We Are Being Cheated" that was critical of the Saudi regime and the economic reality in Saudi Arabia. Bugnah's colleagues have responded that the Saudi government is “trying to control the new Internet media” by making the arrest.

1921 GMT: Bahrain's Minister of Interior Lt. General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa appeared on Al Arabiya. He expressed his concern about the alleged Iranian plot to bomb the Saudi embassy, insinuated that there were links between this plot and violence in the streets of Bahrain, he accused militants of attacking protesters and security forces, and he distinguished between legal protests, which, Khalifa said, were permitted, and illegal protests that were disrupted. When asked about the use of live ammunition, this is how he answered:

"First of all, I personally have never received orders from any officer to fire [on demonstrators]. This has never happened even on the days of the crisis, if it can ever be called a crisis, nor in any other event. On the other hand, if the Ministry of Interior ever issued an order during the said period [of dealing with demonstrators] who were present at the GCC roundabout, then such an order was to affirm commitment to the provisions of the Public Security Law on matters pertaining to the use of arms."

1835 GMT: Claimed video from a funeral for yesterday's martyrs in al Harak, Houran region, Daraa province, Syria. The sign that is held up has today's date:

1818 GMT: According to Al Jazeera,the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has a reported that 17 civilians and 7 soldiers have been killed today in Syria:

The watchdog group said eight people were killed in Homs, central Syria, including four shot dead by Shabiha, an armed civilian group that supports Assad's government.

The other eight civilians were killed in and around the town of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, where clashes raged between troops and suspected army deserters.

One woman was hit by a stray bullet while the teenage girls were killed when their home was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade as troops battled the suspected defectors near Qusayr.

Syrian forces raked homes with heavy machine-guns as they raided neighbourhoods searching for suspects wanted by the authorities, the Observatory said, adding that around 200 people were arrested in the raids.

One man was killed in a raid by security forces in the northwestern province of Idlib, it added.

The Observatory also reported that at least seven Syrian soldiers were killed and others wounded in clashes with suspected army defectors in the village of Jussiyeh near Qusayr.

1810 GMT: James had a hard time, based on the picture, video, and eyewitness accounts that he had seen, in believing SANA's report that half a million had attended the pro-Assad rally in Aleppo. Scott Lucas informed him, however, that he misread the article.

SANA is claiming that ONE AND A HALF MILLION have attended the rally. James doesn't know how he missed the other million people in the claim.

1755 GMT: Meanwhile, in Homs, protesters try to have a funeral for a martyr, but are shot at, reportedly by Syrian military, as they cross the street from the mosque:

1746 GMT: UPDATE: James made a mistake in this entry, but rather than correct it here, just turn to the update at 1810. Thanks.

Syrian state-run news network, SANA, has posted 3 pictures of today's pro-Assad rally in Aleppo. All 3 pictures are of the same square (and there is some conspicuous empty space in the second photo, which we ran earlier), but SANA is claiming half a million people turned out to support Assad and to thank Russia and China for their support. The Associated Press said that "hundreds" turned out, and from the photo there appear to be at least a few thousand, but we've seen no evidence that tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or half a million turned out to the rally.

1743 GMT: An extremely large column of tanks, reportedly deploying today in the Karm Zietoun neighborhood of Homs, Syria:

1729 GMT: Reuters supplies this picture of anti-Qaddafi forces firing rockets and shells into the Qaddafi stronghold of Sirte. Soldiers for the Libyan National Transitional Council have been pushed back, but have renewed their assault on the city, hammering it with artillery and rocket attacks.

1548 GMT: The LCCS has posted a video showing at least 6 martyrs in the Nazhen neighborhood of Homs. The AP is reporting that at least 10 have been killed today in Syria. They have also posted this picture, reportedly shown on SANA of a pro-Assad rally in Aleppo, where, according to the AP, "hundreds" of Assad supporters have gathered:

1520 GMT: According to The Guardian, an opposition group, the Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) has given an account of the death of three sisters, Ruba, Noor, and Nariman Al-Zughbi (11, 15, and 17 years old, respectively), who were reportedly killed in al-Qosour, Homs today:

When the armoured vehicles began firing on the people, around 50 soldiers ...defected and began defending the unarmed civilians which then led to the destruction of a bus filled with Shabiha [pro-regime militia] forces along with an armoured vehicle. The families then secured the defected troops in a safe place which caused the army to start bombarding the houses of the people using heavy artillery, causing the death of the 3 sisters, Nariman, Noor and Ruba Al-Zughbi Al-Aamir, along with many casualties including women and children. The regime forces were then able to capture the defected troops and have executed 10 of them straight away and detained the rest and then carried on to randomly arresting nearly everyone in both villages while burning or using tanks to run over all motorbikes which they find in their way.

1459 GMT: As a consequence for the Assad regime hosting a large pro-government rally in Aleppo, opposition activists are reporting that it has been a little easier to host their own protests today. This video, reportedly taken today, shows a protest growing in a side street:

1436 GMT: CNN speaks to an injured Syrian army defector who fled to Homs:

1404 GMT: A very large rally has been held in Jabal Az Zawia, Idlib, Syria, in response to the "false" rally in Aleppo. At the beginning of the video, a sign is held up with today's date:

1355 GMT: The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting that 6 civilians have been killed, including 1 woman. 4 of the people killed were shot by "Shabiha" in Homs. A seventh died of wounds suffered yesterday on the outskirts of Damascus.

Al Arabiya is reporting that 12 have been killed today. Though that is unconfirmed, it raises the possibility that the death toll may rise.

1336 GMT: The US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, talks to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies via Skype. Besides giving a very helpful overview of his perception of what is going on in the country, he makes several interesting assertions. Ford also believes that, though the numbers of those protesting are down from Ramadan, the numbers on the streets fluctuate week to week, and he does not believe that the opposition is weakening. He also gives an overview of the violent aspect of the opposition, and the prospects for sectarian violence.

Ford stresses that he does not believe that sectarian conflict is inevitable, but he does believe that there is a reason to be concerned about the prospects of sectarian violence. He echoed his statements that appeared in Foreign Policy Magazine, and stressed again the need to embrace the peaceful protests, not the violent opposition. According to Ford, the peaceful protesters, beyond having the greatest chance of eventual success, are largely trying to avoid sectarian fission and violence. His advice for the opposition:

"The Syrian opposition needs to convince those fence-sitters that peaceful change is possible, and that peaceful change is better for them."

1220 GMT: Syrian State newspaper Ath-Thawra has accused the Arab League of serving the interests of the United States and Israel: “It is no longer surprising to see the Arab League, which is supposed to be concerned with joint Arab action, turn into an instrument of injustice aimed at destabilizing Syria....[It is] hostage to powers following the agenda of aggressors like the United States, Israel and their European allies.”

On Sunday, the Arab League called for “national dialogue” between the Assad regime and the opposition in the Egyptian capital Cairo by the end of the month. Syria’s representative Youssef Ahmad denounced the “conspiracy” against Damascus.

Meanwhile, Libya's National Transitional Council has recognised the opposition Syrian National Council as the "legitimate ruler of Syria".

1200 GMT: Claimed footage of Libya's National Transitional Council fighters in the Qaddafi stronghold of Sirte, walking in streets flooded by damaged sewage mains:

1130 GMT: Saudi Arabia has detained three men for a YouTube video on poverty in the kingdom, according to the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association.

Feras Baqna, Hussam al-Drewesh, and Khaled al-Rasheed were detained on Sunday in Riyadh for questioning about their films, "We are Being Cheated".

In April, Saudi Arabia banned media from publishing anything that violates Islamic law, incites division, and threatens internal security.

0900 GMT: This morning's highlight on Syrian state TV has been a pro-Assad demonstration in Aleppo:

0820 GMT: Bahrain's Minister for Human Rights Fatima Al Beloushi tells the BBC, "There were abuses of human rights, mistakes. The Government addressed them. Those mistakes were not just done by the Government,it was even by the demonstrators....Abuses happened from everyone. But were they systematic? Were they gross? No, they were not."

Al Jazeera English profiles six of the more than 200 people given lengthy prison sentences by a Bahraini military court in the past month.

0800 GMT: The US State Department has declared that it will consider the finding of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry into Bahrain's crackdown on protests before pursuing a planned $53 arms sale.

Assistant Secretary of State David Adams assured Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, "The department will review the commission's findings carefully and assess the government of Bahrain's efforts to implement the recommendations and make needed reforms. We will weigh these factors and confer with Congress before proceeding with additional steps related to the recently notified arms sale."

The Commission of Inquiry's report is due 30 October.

0755 GMT: Employees of Telecom Egypt protested on Tuesday, declaring an open-ended strike as they demand the release of five detained colleagues.

A few hundred employees gathered in Opera Square in Cairo, where the five employees were detained last Wednesday, and the staff of 40 other telecommunications hubs held strikes around the country.

The workers demanded the resignation of Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Abdel Rahim and the company’s board of directors, whom they accuse of corruption and financial mismanagement.

Telecom Egypt, a public monopoly of fixed landlines, provides 70% of Internet service in Egypt, and it is the sole provider of international phone services. The company also owns 45% of mobile-phone operator Vodafone Egypt.

0555 GMT: An EA source reports from Bahrain on Tuesday's early-morning police raid on the house of Jalila Al Salman, the Deputy General Director of Bahrain's teachers union.

Al Salman, seized at 3 a.m. by the security forces, has been waiting for the outcome of an appeal of a three-year sentence handed down earlier in the protests. She was released on bail later on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, Al Salman and Rula Jasim al-Saffar, the head of Bahrain's nursing union who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, spoke with FirstCast.

Al Salman also spoke of her detention to Human Rights First, "They said, 'We can do anything to you'":

Meanwhile, a bit of a rocky start for the new Parliament, supplemented by 14 incoming MPs elected earlier this month in boycott-affected by-elections. New MP Sawsan Taqawi spit in the face of another freshman legislator, Osama Altamimi, after he called her a "bitch". Altiamimi also called a male colleague a "disgraceful bender" and threatened to him with a Parliamentary booklet.

0515 GMT: A tense, often dramatic, display of news from Syria on Tuesday, with signs of an escalation of military action not only in the flashpoint city of Homs but also the south of the country, villages on the Lebanese border, and the Damascus suburbs.

The number of dead is notable --- activists are saying more than 40 have perished in Homs since Monday, with at least a dozen slain elsewhere --- but there is also significance in the geography. For weeks, we have been looking at an effort by the Assad regime to concentrate power on Homs to suppress the rebellion in Syria's third-largest city. Yesterday exposed the challenge, perhaps fatal, to that approach.

Simply put, the regime troops are trying to "nail jelly to the wall". The military will move into a neighbourhood, make mass arrests, take up positions, and often clash with residents and --- it now appears --- defecting soldiers. As they attempt to pacify the area, however, other towns and cities across the country are hosting protests and resistance. So, unless the regime is going to give up those areas, troops have to be shifted, tanks have to roll, checkpoints have to be set up. 

This is not a new pattern --- we saw it in March, at the start of the uprising, as towns in the south of Syria launched the uprising and then others in the northeast and northwest joined in. But now the list of areas, as we saw yesterday with Saqba and Douma, includes the suburbs of the capital.

The list does not yet include signficant shows of opposition in the centre of Damascus and Syria's second city, Aleppo. If it does, we will know --- for all the regime's efforts to suppress the challenge in Homs and scrambling to cover other locations --- we are beyond a case of nailing jelly to the wall.