Syria, Bahrain, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Popping the Regime's Bubble

Protest last night on the streets of the Syrian capital Damascus

See also The Real Net Effect: Social Media and the Changing Middle East

Bahrain Feature: An Opposition Leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, Spreads His Message on Twitter
Egypt Opinion: What Have We Achieved?
Bahrain Propaganda 101: The Regime and Its US PR Firm Spin the Election
Bahrain Special: An Election Day Overtaken by Protest, Violence, and Fires

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2020 GMT: Children in a Daraa neighbourhood in southern Syria chant against the regime:

2010 GMT: Lawyer Reem Khalaf has said 22 women and girls detained in City Center Mall on Friday were released tonight.

Amnesty International has called on Bahrain's authorities to "urgently investigate reports that women were tortured in detention" after being arrested in Friday's protest.

Amnesty said of the detainees, including 38 women and seven girls who were arrested at City Center Mall and accused of "illegal public gathering”, rioting, and attacking security forces, “It appears that Bahrain’s authorities have patently denied these women and girls their rights after rounding them up at a Manama shopping centre. All detainees must be given access to lawyers and contact with their families.”

Amnesty claimed that, as well as being denied contact with their families or adequate access to legal counsel, the detainee were not given them food or medical treatment and were not allowed to pray. When lawyers requested to attend the women’s interrogations at the Public Prosecution Office, they were told the women were not being held there, but they saw some of the women detainees being moved from one floor to another inside the building and managed to speak to some of them.

Amnesty reported that Nour al-Ghasla, 20, had bruises on her face, apparently from ill-treatment in custody.

Bahrain prosecutors had order the detention of the woman for 45 days and the juveniles for 3.

2005 GMT: Another of the many videos now circulating that claim to show Bahrain's police vandalising cars, in this case smashing a window:

2000 GMT: Activists claim that security forces shot dead four soldiers who tried to desert on Monday. "Four soldiers in Maar Shamsa in (northwestern) Idlib were shot dead while trying to flee the Wadi Deif military camp," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, also reporting gunfire, arrests and murders.

Meanwhile, China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi highlighted Beijing's concern over Syria in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly: "We hope that parties in Syria will exercise restraint, avoid any form of violence or more bloodshed and conflict, and act quickly to ease tension....[The international community should] handle the Syrian issue in a prudent way so as to prevent further turbulence in Syria and its repercussions on regional peace."

1800 GMT: Fighters of Libya's National Transitional Council have again moved close to the centre of Sirte, one of the last two holdout of the forces of former leader Muammar Qaddafi.

Fighting on Monday took place at a roundabout about 2 kilometres (1.25 miles) from the town centre. Explosions could be heard as NATO aircraft roared overhead.

1700 GMT: From an EA correspondent --- activists claim Bahraini police carried out a dawn raid of the home of Ahmed Fahran, reportedly killed by Gulf Co-operation Council security forces on 16 March, beating Fahran's brother and sister and vandalising the property.

1655 GMT: Bahraini authorities have issued a statement about 15-year prison sentences handed down to 32 men for allegedly burning buildings (see 0845 GMT).

Among those sentenced were two members of Bahrain's national handball team, Mohammed and Ali Mirza. Their father said they were imprisoned for being part of a group of anti-government demonstrators that burned down a farm owned by a member of the ruling family.

1650 GMT: An excerpt from the latest press release of the Bahraini regime about the Government committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, "tracking implementation of the national consensus dialogue’s views":

The meeting reviewed the actions taken for views implementation by the Ministry of Interior and modifications proposed by the sub-committee which considers the formulation of final report on the views. At the start of the meeting, the chairman of the governmental commission expressed gratitude and appreciation to His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the Prime Minister for his wise directives during the previous weekly cabinet meeting which obliged each ministry, governmental institution and authority to include 190 views conceded within the government’s action program and take the necessary executive actions and the provision of additional budgets, citing the issuance of six cabinet resolutions to implement the views of the national dialogue pertaining to the societal and legal themes to ensure expediting implementation of the conceded views and achieve more reforms in the various areas, the response by all ministries to the commission’s discussions, remarks and visualizations, emphasizing the government’s keenness under the leadership of HRH the Prime Minister to ensure realization of the views and citizens’ aspirations and needs.

Then the commission was briefed by the Minister of Interior Lt-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa on the ultimate actions taken by the Ministry of Interior in order to implement the views concerning the Ministry of Interior. The Minister of Interior stressed that the ministry shall apply the national consensus dialogue’s views in the light of the steps taken to ensure implementation through enactment of the necessary legislations and/or amendments thereof.

1305 GMT: A curious message on Twitter from Bahrain's Minister of Interior finally hints at the clashes over the weekend between security forces and protesters, "MOI Spokesperson: MOI had affirmed its resolve to make the voting process safe and successful. It therefore took strong security measures."

Meanwhile, Bahrain's Minister of Justice has dismissed figures from the country's elections authority and claims from the opposition group Al Wefaq National Islamic Society that the turnout for Saturday's 14 Parliamentary by-elections was 17.4%.

Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa said in a press conference that statements made by Al Wefaq's secretary-general Shaikh Ali Salman insisted that that the number of voters who boycotted was no more than 16.3%.

1250 GMT: Thousands of pro-reform protesters marched in several cities across Morocco on Sunday evening.

The largest demonstrations were seen in Casablanca’s Sebata district and in the northern city of Tangiers, with an estimated 100,000 people responding to a call for demonstration by the February 20 Movement.

Demonstrations also took place in the capital, Rabat, and in the cities of Marrakesh, Agadir, Nador, and Meknes.

Participants in the Casablanca demonstration held placards reading “Corruption is Wrecking Our Lives” and “More Social Justice.” The marches have been occurring even though King Mohamed VI put through a package of Constitutional amendments, supported by a Yes vote in a referendum, re-allocating powers. Critics claims the refomrs are superficial, leaving control of vital areas such as foreign policy and security exclusively in the hands of the King.

The demonstration in Rabat:

1250 GMT: Libya has resumed oil production for the first time since the uprising against Muammar Qaddafi, tapping 15 wells and producing about 32,900 barrels per day, Italian energy firm Eni said Monday.

Eni said production had resumed at the Abu-Attifel fields, about 300 kilometres (185 miles) south of the city of Benghazi. Other wells would be reactivated soon to reach the "required volumes to fill the pipeline" between the Abu-Attifel field and the Zuetina port.

The operations are through Mellitah Oil & Gas, a partnership between Eni and Libya's state-run National Oil Corporation.

Before protests escalated in mid-February, Eni was producing 273,000 barrels of oil per day in Libya, which has Africa's largest proven reserves of conventional crude.

1245 GMT: A provocative claim in al-Akhbar about Saudi Arabian influence in Yemeni events:

Sources tell al-Akhbar that Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin-Abdulaziz pushed for Saleh’s return to Yemen. According to these sources, bin-Abdulaziz, who is also the second deputy prime minister, discussed the fate of Saleh’s presidency with King Abdullah. The two agreed that Saleh should be allowed to return to Yemen. They concluded that despite his many faults, which the Saudis have accommodated over the years, Saleh remains Saudi Arabia’s safest bet in Yemen. The decision was based primarily on Saudi interests. They believed that Saleh’s ousting might lead the Yemeni situation to spiral further out of control. The two also hope to keep power in the hands of a figure who is beholden to Saudi Arabia and can be relied upon to uphold Saudi interests and bidding.

A key factor, according to the sources, was last year’s Houthi rebellion in northwestern Yemen, which necessitated Saudi military intervention. The Saudis believe that the Houthi conflict could flare up again as a result of wider regional conditions. The Houthi rebels have rearmed since their last bout against the Saudis; and given the Saudi army’s poor past performance against the rebels, they would prefer that Saleh’s forces, rather than their own, take on the Houthis in any future showdown.

The Saudi kingdom is therefore reluctant to see Saleh exit quietly. In this regard, the Saudis seem at odds with the US. Washington prefers a quick resolution that would shift the focus toward more pressing matters, both locally –-- the targeting of al-Qaeda elements in Yemen –-- and regionally --– attending to the intractable crisis in Syria.

1235 GMT: Aomar Ouali, writing for Associated Press, assesses why protest is failing to take off in Algeria, nine months after activists tried to launch a campaign for political reforms. He assesses:

The civil war left deep divisions in Algerian society and a lingering fear of security forces. That, along with government largesse stemming from oil wealth, has kept the lid on the situation here.

"The country is on the edge of an explosion, the regime has only held on by spending billions, but for how long?" asked Sherif Arbi, a pro-democracy activist, on the day the protest didn't happen. "This is just a postponement."

In fact that same day, just on the other side of town in the neighborhood of Diar Chems, there were riots over the promised distribution of new housing units. Two days later, protesters blocked the main road of the capital's Beau Fraisier neighborhood over the same issue.

This month alone nearly every city in the country has seen some kind of protest, usually ranging from between dozens and hundreds of participants, of people angry over the lack of water, housing, electricity or calling for higher wages.

1055 GMT: Amidst reports that the formation of an interim Government by Libya's National Transitional Council has been delayed, The New York Times

posts an overview, "Former Rebels' Rivalries Hold Up Governing in Libya".

1050 GMT: Yemeni security officials say anti-regime tribesmen have overrun a base of the loyalist Republican Guards, commanded by the son of President Saleh, north of the capital Sana'a.

The Ministry of Defense said that the base's commander, Brigadier Ali al-Keleibi, was killed in the fighting. Tribesmen captured 30 guards when they seized control of the base at Dahrah early Monday. There was no information on casualties among regime forces, but at least four tribesmen were killed and 27 others.

Claimed footage of regime forces firing at protesters in Sana'a on Sunday:

1045 GMT: Joshua Landis gives further detail on the Syrian institutions and individuals sanctioned by the European Union last week: "[The] sanctions continue to largely target [prominent businessman and ally of President Assad] Rami Makhlouf and the entities that he controls. The other notable target this time was Syria’s official and non-official media. Both the Information Minister and Addounia TV were hit with sanctions."

0845 GMT: A lawyer from Bahrain sends the Twitter message that 23 men from Kardokan have been sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges that they intentionally burned buildings.

0815 GMT: The Scholars Council, which oversees the highest-ranking Shia clergy in Bahrain, has issued a statement denouncing the regime's arrest of women and their "unethical" treatment by police. All Shia schools have been closed today and clerics have assembled in a mosque to protest.

0745 GMT: A bird's-eye view of a highway in the Bahraini capital Manama this morning --- activists called for a "Chain of Dignity" to slow traffic this morning:

0735 GMT: This weekend we carried the photograph of a group of Bahraini women who were detained as "rioters" by security forces in the City Center Mall on Friday --- the women, all in black chadors, were lying on the ground, their hands bound behind the backs.

An activist now posts another angle on the incident, showing the women lying on the ground in the Mall's parking lot.

0635 GMT: Unexpected assistance for Bahrain's regime from international media this morning --- AFP gives the regime line rather than check the actual vote count in Saturday's 14 by-elections, "The opposition reported a low voter turnout, but the government said 51 percent of eligible voters had cast ballots."

The Washington Post does give both the regime's spin of 51% and the actual figure of 17.4%. However, it attributes the latter number to opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman, failing to note that it has been posted by the Bahraini office supervising the elections.

The Financial Times does get the story right, "Bahrain By-Elections Hit by Boycott".

0633 GMT: Moussa Ibrahim, the spokesman for Muammar Qaddafi, has said that the deposed Libyan leader and his family have not helped themselves to Libya's oil wealth and that they were "among the poorest citizens".

Speaking to Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location, Moussa Ibrahim said no one had been able to show that Gaddafi or his family had assets or accounts. "That is more proof of the honesty and transparency of this family and that they are an ordinary Libyan family," said Ibrahim, who usually acts as Gaddafi's contact with the international media. "The leader of the revolution and his family are among the poorest citizens," Ibrahim said. "All the wealth of Libya is traceable to functioning companies and institutions".

0630 GMT: Claimed footage of police seizing and beating a man in Sanabis in Bahrain this weekend:

0625 GMT: In the first verdict for the killing of a protester during the uprising against the Mubarak regime, the Cairo Criminal Court has sentenced police officer Tamer Sami Refaat to five years in prison for slaying a female demonstrator in Nasr City on 28 January, during the "Friday of Anger".

Refaat was also ordered to pay LE10,000 in compensation.

0605 GMT: In Egypt, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information has condemned “the return of the repressive practices of the former Egyptian regime following the revolution”. ANHRI cited incidents such as the detention of writer Amr El-Shobaky at Cairo’s airport, the deportation of a French researcher, Marie Edmee Josette Duboc, at the airport, and the confiscation of an issue of Sawt El-Umma newspaper.

El-Shobaky was briefly detained on Saturday at the Cairo Airport upon his arrival from Beirut. According to ANHRI, his passport was seized for investigation and he was later released.

On the same day Duboc was refused entry at Cairo Airport and deported to Paris with her daughter. Duboc had been hired by the American University in Cairo’s Department of Sociology, having examined Egypt’s labour movement.

Authorities seized Sawt El-Umma’s issue of 25 September 2011. Editor Hamdi Qandeel said he received a phone call from Al-Ahram printing house, responsible for publishing the newspaper, informing him that the issue had been confiscated upon the request of an undisclosed sovereign body.

ANHRI declared, “Following a popular uprising that raised the slogan of freedom, it is contradictory that repression, confiscation and denying journalists and activists entry into Egypt without providing any reasons persist among the remnants of the practices of Mubarak’s regime."

Meanwhile, striking bus drivers have threatened to escelate their action, to the point of a hunger strike.

An estimated 1500 bus drivers, ticket collectors, mechanics, and other employees have been protesting before the Cabinet headquarters for the last eight days. Public Transportation Association workers say all garages around Cairo are on strike and no more than 10 buses are running their routes.

0600 GMT: An interesting but inconclusive report by Liz Sly in The Washington Post this morning on the challenge of military defection to the Assad regime in Syria:

A group of defectors calling themselves the Free Syrian Army is attempting the first effort to organize an armed challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, signaling what some hope and others fear may be a new phase in what has been an overwhelmingly peaceful Syrian protest movement.

For now, the shadowy entity seems mostly to consist of some big ambitions, a Facebook page and a relatively small number of defected soldiers and officers who have taken refuge on the borderlands of Turkey and Lebanon or among civilians in Syria’s cities.

Many of its claims appear exaggerated or fanciful, such as its boasts to have shot down a helicopter near Damascus this month and to have mustered a force of 10,000 to take on the Syrian military.

But it is clear that defections from the Syrian military have been accelerating in recent weeks, as have levels of violence in those areas where the defections have occurred.

“It is the beginning of armed rebellion,” said Gen. Riad Asaad, the dissident army’s leader, who defected from the air force in July and took refuge in Turkey.

“You cannot remove this regime except by force and bloodshed,” he said, speaking by telephone from the Syria-Turkey border. “But our losses will not be worse than we have right now, with the killings, the torture and the dumping of bodies.”

His goals are to carve out a slice of territory in northern Syria, secure international protection in the form of a no-fly zone, procure weapons from friendly countries and then launch a full-scale attack to topple the Assad government, echoing the trajectory of the Libyan revolution.

0550 GMT: An EA source reports on this morning's attempted protest on Bahrain's roads, "One hour passed since the Chain of Dignity started. I noticed heavy activity by traffic police, but the traffic is not as heavy as the last [Chain, on Wednesday]. It took me 20 minutes more than the usual time to get to work, but the opposite lanes were packed."

Most of the traffic build-up is reportedly on the Athari Highway.

0520 GMT: The group Anonymous reports that a hacktivist has taken over 12 webpages of the Syrian regime, including sites for ministries and the homepage of the Assad's proclaimed programme for reforms.

0500 GMT: Readers can probably write our morning introduction to developments in Syria. The regime moved military units and security forces around the country, another 12 civilians reportedly died, but the protests continued into the night. Last evening in Harasta, northeast of Damascus:

However, it is unclear whether the deadly conflict in Yemen has a twist with Sunday's speech by President Saleh or whether the offer for his Vice President to hold talks with the opposition on a transition of power is just another repetition of stalling tactics from the spring.

And in Bahrain, there may or may not be a new script after the weekend. At the very least, the regime's claim to legitimacy has been seriously dented by the low turnout of 17.4% --- initially, State media tried to plant a figure of 51% --- in 14 Parliamentary by-elections.

Beyond that is the question of whether the opposition can maintain a public presence after the resurgence of protests in recent weeks. Activists have called for another "Chain of Dignity", slowing traffic on the roads of the capital Manama this morning, but the declaration may not have had much resonance amidst the by-election and the stories of clashes in Bahrain's villages.

And the regime is also maintaining high-profile measures to contain any challenge. On Sunday, a military court yesterday imprisoned the head of Bahrain's teachers' union for 10 years and his deputy for three.

Mahdi Abu Deib and Jalila Al Salman were convicted by the Court of National Safety of "calling to forcefully overthrow the regime in union statements" and "promoting hatred to the regime and spreading false news".

The State news agency said the pair used the union to "instigate acts that are considered criminal like - calling for sit-ins by teachers, obstructing teaching, holding protests near schools ... and calling upon parents not to send their children to school".