The people of Homs take to the streets en masse today
See also Libya LiveBlog: The Last Push Against Former Leader Qaddafi
2127 GMT: A massive demonstration in Taiz, Yemen's second largest city, celebrating the fall of Qaddafi in Libya while protesting against the rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh:
2116 GMT: With today's violence in Homs, Assad's security forces were hoping to stop the protests.
They failed. This video, taken tonight, shows post-Taraweeh prayer protests in Homs:
We've already received dozens of new videos, night protests in defiance of the massacres. How many people will Assad have to kill before he realizes that killing his own people is only swelling the ranks of the protesters?
Harasta, a key district of Damascus:
Protests tonight in Aleppo:
Halfaya, Hama:
Binnish, Idlib:
2111 GMT: An unnamed diplomat speaks to Al JAzeera about his concerns in Syria:
There are grave misgivings in the UN delegation about continuing with this mission when the Syrian authorities move in after they leave a location and shoot dead those attempting to testify.
"Far from uncovering crimes against humanity, this UN mission is provoking the Assad regime into committing them. A whitewash became a fiasco and that fiasco has now turned into a murderous road show."
1903 GMT: The Avaaz human rights group is now reporting that a 4th person has died in Homs, and 1 person has dies at a funeral in Hama:
The funeral of one of the soldiers who was killed for refusing to fire at demonstrators [on Sunday] turned into a mass protest overnight. Protesters called for the fall of the regime.
"Shabiha forces began firing indiscriminately at the protesters in the central Assi Square, which had been renamed Martyrs' Square. This lead to the death of Mustafa Zeno and injuries to others who were transferred to the state hospital in Hama."
1822 GMT: A MASSIVE rally in Ibb, Yemen, celebrating the end of the Qaddafi regime: UPDATED, upon more careful consideration of this video, we note that Syria's Bashar al Assad is on the poster, next to Qaddafi, at the start of the video. Also, some of the chants sound like they are anti-Bashar, but this is Yemen:
1640 GMT: According to Al Jazeera:
The Local Co-ordination Committees say residents in Baniyas have massed to a square in the coastal city, waiting for the UN fact-finding mission to arrive.
The activist network also reports raids of houses and "random arrests" in Al Bukamal, near the Iraqi border, and in Jassem in Deraa province.
1627 GMT: An overhead view of the crowd mobbing the UN convoy. My favorite protester sign, on the right of the screen, has a universal message, "SOS":
The next video, taken (it appears) from the same angle, claims to show security firing over the heads of protesters "as the attempt to return to the square." It is unclear whether this is before or after the protesters are shot, shown in the previous videos.
1607 GMT: Video showing the Syrian military convoys returning to Homs after the UN Delegation left (note, this is the Bab Sba'a neighborhood of Homs):
1549 GMT: Al Jazeera reports on the situation in Homs, and also confirms the reports that we've been hearing of arrests in Homs and elsewhere in the country, Daraa and Jab al Zawiya, Idlib:
1533 GMT: These people, in Freedom Square in Homs, are peacefully chanting. Security can be seen deploying across the street in the background, and shots ring out. One young man appears to have been hit in the head, perhaps by a ricochet.
1526 GMT: We've focused on Homs today, because that has been the most dramatic developments of the day, but that's certainly not the only story. Large demonstrations have taken place in Daraa (in the south), Darya (Damascus), Kiswah (Damascus), and these two videos are from a rally today in Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon:
1511 GMT:The UN delegation exiting Homs via a central square:
Moments later, gunshots ring out and the wounded are evacuated.
1453 GMT: Syrian Human Rights activist and leading protester Abdel Karim Rihawi has been released, without charge, after spending 11 days in detention. Tihawi was arrested in a cafe 11 days ago. There has been no reason given for his arrest, or for his release, though France and Italy have been calling for his release, and it was perfectly timed with the arrival of the UN.
1447 GMT: The UN delegation leaving Homs:
Protesters leave the Great Mosque in Homs, less than an hour before security forces open fire on the crowd today:
WARNING: DISTURBING VIDEO: Man is shot in the head in central square in Homs (below) and another man, less severely injured, is loaded into a car:
1420 GMT: A clarification on the situation in Homs, with details from the videos, several activists, and the LCCS.
This morning, the security forces were preparing the city for the UN delegation to visit. Many barricades, roadblocks, and security checkpoints were removed. Three things contributed to what happened next.
First of all, protesters, who believed they would be safe from the security forces, flocked to the cars of the UN delegation (see video at 1310 GMT). Also, some people took advantage of the barriers being removed, and tried to go to the market to get much needed supplies. The third thing that happened is that a large group of people flooded Sa'ah square (this is what we show in our third video at the 1235 entry).
Immediately after the UN delegation was out of the are, snipers began to shoot at people in the streets. The market is now surrounded, and there are reports that 2 or 3 people, including a child, have been killed, and at least 9 have been injured. Also, the LCCS adds an interesting claim, that at least one of the wounded civilians has been evacuated in a car belonging to the UN.
1410 GMT: According to the UN Human Rights Council, the death toll in Syria has officially topped 2200, with at least 350 people having died since the start of Ramadan.
1342 GMT: The Libyan embassy in Damascus has released a statement that it is supporting the National Transitional Council, not the Qaddafi government.
1310 GMT: Another video of the chaos in Homs after security forces opened fire on protesters, with demonstrators carrying a man apparently shot and killed:
And before the shooting, as protesters greeted the United Nations delegation travelling through the country:
1235 GMT: A very chaotic scene in Homs so far this morning. In this video, a young man (video says a "child," but that may be a translation issue) is cut down by gunfire:
This video is choppy, but it appears to have been uploaded from the streets (despite a bad connection). It clearly shows wounded protesters, some of whom struggle to get out of the streets.
These protesters are obviously panicked:
1231 GMT: There are also significant protests in Darraya, an important district in Damascus:
1224 GMT: James Miller takes the LiveBlog, noting that the projection he wrote in the middle of the night (see 0845 GMT) has come true almost immediately.
We now have reports of very large demonstrations in Homs, and violence as well. In our first video, the size of the crowd is obvious (also see the video at the top of the page). In the second video, we already see the crowd moving a body to the back of the line:
0845 GMT: Just before ending his coverage of the Libyan situation earlier this morning, James Miller left this snap analysis....
One Arab Spring uprising begets Arab Spring Uprisings. The fall of the Tunisian government sparked the protests in Egypt, which sparked Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain. Once the opposition in Libya was on a winning track, the situation in Syria started to get serious. When Syria started to really take off, the resistance in Yemen and Bahrain were kicked into higher gear. Now, with the fall of the Qaddafi regime imminent, the rest of the region will be on edge. Expect bigger rallies, and expect more nervous regimes.
For the Assad regime, the turn of events in Libya could not come at a worse time. Friday's protests signified a strengthening, not a weakening, of the opposition, and with a team of UN members in Syria this week, it will be difficult for Assad to respond to this crisis. He'll be faced with a choice of letting the opposition have free range for a few days, or renewing his crackdown despite the UN presence.
Activists in Homs are already reporting that communication lines have been restored, in advance of the UN visit, so expect the opposition to take advantage.
Protesters on Monday at dawn in Daraa in the south:
0715 GMT: GMT: I am not sure that Syrian President Assad expected to be upstaged, especially with wall-to-wall coverage of his country in recent weeks. But, by the time he appeared on State TV for his interview last night, most eyes outside Syria were on the demise of the Qaddafi regime in Libya.
I leave it to others to make any comparisons and ask, "Bashar, are you watching?" What can be said is that Assad repeated his themes of the summer:
1) Committees will study revision of the Constitution and political reforms. After they report --- Assad said by next February --- there will be Parliamentary elections
2) There had been some mistakes in the handling of the situation, and regime officials should be held accountable. But "justice" would be handed out to anyone who caused disorder.
3) The foreign community, especially the West, was the mover behind the trouble. It would not accept any of Assad's reforms, using "human rights" as a false principle to denigrate the Syrian regime.
Videos received last night indicated a less-than-overwhelming acceptance of the interview, with crowds across Syria waving shoes at their President and chanting for his fall. Whether Assad retains a "silent majority" --- as Muammar Qaddafi claimed in Libya even yesterday --- is the key question.