Egypt, Yemen, Syria & Beyond LiveBlog: Stopping Virginity Tests, Making Protests "Criminal"

Tahrir Square, Cairo, 11 February 2011

1805 GMT: Is the Gaddafi regime negotiating? US Secretary of State Hillary CLinton said today that there are ongoing talks with people close to Colonel Gaddafi, and there was at least the potential for a transition of power.

An opposition website is reporting that an aide to National Transitional Council leader Mahmoud Jebril said that Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, has approached the rebels in an attempt to negoiate a settlement. 

1743 GMT: Activists are claiming that another child, Tamer Al Sha'ry, has been killed, and his body has just been released to his parents. The description of the graphic video of the body reads:

"Tamer Alshary, 15 yr-old, was arrested on the day of Sayda Massacre, April 29th, 2011. the same day Hamza Alkhateeb was arrested too, when people of the town of Aljiza tried to deliever food and clean water to the besieged city of Daraa. the body of this innocent child was deleivered to his family on June 8, after more tham 5 weeks, filled with torture marks. The savage monsters took one eye out, pulled his teeth. burnt his body with cigarettes, and then shot him in face, belly and legs."

1736 GMT: A Syrian source has this update:

"Military and security checkpoint seperates Bansh from besieged city of #Idlib from all directions, heavy presence of security forces/Shabiha/army within the city"

1727 GMT: 2,5000 Syrian refugees have now crossed the border into Turkey, most refugees from Jisr al Shughour and other towns and villages in Idlib province. Turkey Prime Minister Erdogan said today that Turkey would keep its door open for refugees.

"It's not possible for us to shut our doors at a time when deadly violence is on the rise (in Syria) and our brothers there are looking for shelter."

1716 GMT: Soldiers beat, kick, and stand on protesters who have their hands bound. The video claims to be from Baba Amro, Homs, Syria, today. According to the video uploader, abdullahdib, at least one of the men featured in this video is already dead.

A Twitter account says that one of the soldiers can be heard saying, "You want freedom? Here is your freedom."

1653 GMT: Back from a break to find that five women have been arrested in Saudi Arabia for breaking the driving ban and training to drive. The arrests come a week before a major planned protests where hundreds, or thousands, of women are threatening to take to the streets. 

1559 GMT: Cyber-War: Syrian activists have hacked the website belonging to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, posting a video of a renowned advocate for the separation of church and state, Karim Rajeh, a video of 13 year-old Hamza al Khatib, and a simple message, "The people want to topple the regime."

1459 GMT: Yemen is perhaps the most complicated story of the Arab Spring. There are three, or perhaps now four, different fronts of the conflict. The first front is between pro-democracy activists and PResident Saleh's regime. The second front is between tribes and President Saleh's regime, though so far this front has consisted of more violence than politics, as the tribes seem to be deferring to the voices of the protesters. The third front is between an Al Qaeda run insurgency and the government of Yemen. The emerging front may be between reformists, those who think they can work within the system to affect change, and the revolutionaries who believe that the entire system needs to be revamped.

Today, we have news on the third front: the war on terror.

Since the start of the unrest, some U.S. officials have expressed concern that Al Qaeda would take advantage of a weakened regime to make advances. Many in the opposition have accused Saleh of playing up this threat in order to bolster support for his faltering and repressive regime.

Today, the New York Times is reporting that the United States has stepped up a campaign of drones strikes and air strikes against Al Qaeda forces in the south, espeically after the regime has pulled most of its counter-terrorism resources into the capital in order to confront the other three fronts of this crisis. On Friday, Abu Ali al-Harith, a mid-level Al Qaeda commander, was killed in air strikes. 

With the regime largely out of the fight, the US will have to rely on these expanding operations to ensure that Al Qaeda does not expand. On the other hand, they now have the ability to deal with militants however they see fit.

1427 GMT: Pope Benedict XVI called on Syria to respect the human rights of its people and stop the violence.

"Every nation's path to unity and stability lies in recognising the inalienable dignity of all people. This recognition should be at the heart of institutions, laws and societies. [...]It is essential to give priority to the common good, leaving aside personal or partisan interests."

1419 GMT: An important video from Syria. Protesters gather in Shaalan, chanting "No to violence," and "We are all one, we want freedom, for Islam and Christianity." The protests are suddenyl disrupted, protesters appear to be beaten, and the perpetrators begin to chant slogans in support of Bashar al Assad.

1412 GMT: A soldier in the Gaddafi army kept a photo and video diary of the war efforts. He was killed, and his diary is now a key piece of evidence in documenting the crimes of the Libyan regime.

1402 GMT: A source reports, via Twitter, that 7 were killed in Saraqeb, in Idlib province, while attempting to stop tanks from deploying to Jisr al Shughour.

1356 GMT: A source recommended this video, uploaded today, that allegedly shows Syrian army moving towards the city of Jisr al Shughour earlier today.

1350 GMT: A large protests in Hama, Syria, last night. Hama is the city where more than 80 protesters were killed on Friday.

1337 GMT: Two Yemeni soldiers, part of a militia called the "Eagles of Liberty," have killed two pro-protest gunmen and wounded two others in an ambush in the southern city of Taiz. The Eagles were formed after security forces killed 50 protesters last week.

The attack took place in the Bir Pacha market at the weste gate of the city.

1327 GMT: Al Jazeera is collecting accounts of journalists who have said that the Turkish government is attempting to stop journalists from speaking with the refugees from Jisr al Shughour, Syria. Anita McNaught has this report:

"Extraordinary regression by Turkish govt into authoritarian blackout of press on Turkey-Syria border. Syrian refugees locked away here now.

"Let's be frank. As far as I can see, no media - local or foreign - is able to freely speak to Syrians fleeing Jisr Shughour bcz of Turk gov.

"Turk gov. has posted CCTV around Syrian refugee camp in Yayladagi "for security reasons". Who is this protecting?

"Spoke to Turkish AP photog. who had memory card taken by Turk military. He witnessed injured Syrian man sent back 2 Syria. Erdogan promises?"

1317 GMT: At least 1600 Syrian refugees have fled Jisr al Shughour and surrounding towns and have flooded across the border with Turkey. The refugees are being gathered up by local security forces and placed into a Red Crescent camp in the town of Yayladagi, except for those who are injured and are receiving medical help.

Many of the refugees have testified that some soldiers did defect in Jisr al Shughour, and were then shot. They also suggested that civilians were being killed as tanks have surrounded the town on all four sides.

The BBC World Service interviewed a man this morning. Gunfire could be heard in the background, as the young man testified that as many as 30,000 soldiers are preparing to massacre whatever civilians are left. He also said that at least 1,000 soldiers have defected, many of whom are also trying to cross the border. 

Another man spoke to the BBC World Service by phone. He said that at least 7000 youth remained in the city of Jisr al Shughour, refusing to leave and willing to die. He said that the youth had no guns, but were hoping that the military would eventually join the protests. 

A spokeswoman for the Syrian Interior Ministry retells the government line, that there is no army in Jisr al Shughour, but that the military is preparing to restore order. Armed gangs are responsible for the killing.

1300 GMT: Video allegedly shows a protest in the Erdeen neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, last night.

1250 GMT: Late yesterday, Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, emerged from successful surgery in a Saudi hospital, after a small piece of shrapnel was removed from his chest. When Yemen State TV broke the news, Saleh's supporters poured into the streets, firing guns in the air and setting off fireworks.

According to US and Arab officials, the device that injuired Saleh was not a rocket, as Yemeni officials initially stated, but a bomb.

1240 GMT: With Scott Lucas on the road, James Miller reports for duty. We'll try to get caught up as quickly as possible.

In Syria, in the town of Jisr al Shughour, details are slowly emerging of a growing division within the military. An eyewitness has this account:

"There is a battle between those who are obeying orders to shoot peaceful demonstrators and those who aren't."

As civilians took to the streets to protest...

"They were met by army personnel who didn't assault them... But soon security forces arrived and snipers claimed rooftops and began an offensive on army personnel and civilians."

0430 GMT: We start with an apology for limited service until this afternoon because of an academic conference in London and of this story from Egypt illustrating how a regime can mix "concession" and crackdown.

According to Human Rights Watch, Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has promised that women in custody will no longer be subjected to virginity tests.

An Egyptian general had told CNN last month that some female protesters detained in March had been forced to undergo the tests.

Now look at the Supreme Council's move yesterday:

The Egyptian government confirmed on Wednesday that the law criminalizing protests and strikes, which was approved in late April but never fully applied, will be enforced from now on.

The law criminalizing strikes, protests, public gatherings and street assemblies, was issued on 24 March by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet and ratified by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) a month later. However, despite having been ratified, the new law was never fully enforced for political reasons, having met with stiff opposition from revolutionary groups and political parties.

The law stipulates that protesters or strikers disrupting work at state institutions, public authorities, and public or private institutions will be arrested, fined and/or imprisoned, with fines ranging from LE30,000 to LE500,000 (from US$5,000 to US$83,000), and prison sentences of one year or more. Even those promoting strikes or protests but not participating in them are subject to imprisonment and fines reaching up to LE50,000 (around US$8,300).

According to a statement issued by the SCAF on Wednesday, "In order to achieve stability, the cabinet declares the activation of the law that criminalizes strikes and the disruption of production." The statement noted that "some sit-ins and labor strikes led to the disruption of production, decline in investment opportunities and the halt of progress in many government departments."

He said that the law had been activated "so as to avoid further economic risks and to achieve stability for the country."

The government stressed that it "will not hesitate to respond to any attempts by any party or group to disrupt the law or harm the national economy, especially during this critical stage the country is going through."