Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond): Calling for International Intervention?

Scene of the explosion in Midan in the Syrian capital Damascus today

See also Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country - Set1 and Set 2

Bahrain Analysis: Will 2012 Be Like 2011?
Syria and Bahrain Analysis: Evaluating The Protests and the Crackdowns --- Will New History Be Made?
Thursday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Message to President Obama

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2310 GMT: Nabeel Rajab is home. He tweets of his experience:

It was minimum cost for freedom and justice - 9umoood [Resistance!]

Disturbingly, Nabeel also confirms earlier reports that his "family and house were attacked by teargas" whilst he was in hospital.

2240 GMT: Nabeel Rajab is out of hospital. Zainab Alkhawaja has uploaded this picture showing him as he walks out of Salmaniya hospital:

She quotes Nabeel as saying: ""The most important thing, is we don't give up. That's why next week we'll do the same as 2day"

Said Yousif Almuhafda, who was also injured after security forces attacked, came to visit Nabeel in the hospital. Zainab reports that he was threatened by police when he got there. Zainab later uploaded this photo of the two human rights campaigners which she captioned: "Two heroes after a rough day".

2105 GMT: This video shows Nabeel Rajab speaking to a police officer. As the officer withdraws, the crowd begins to chant, and then the video decays into gunfire and chaos:

2100 GMT: Said Yousif Almuhafda, injured in tonight's police attack, was able to see fellow activist Nabeel Rajab, hospitalised after his beating by security forces. Almuhafda sent the message:

I just saw @NABEELRAJAB at hospital, bruises near his eye and on his back. Nabeel is fine told me that we are going back to Lulu [Pearl Roundabout, the center of protests overrun in March].

[After] a few minutes, civilans and officer from @moi_bahrain [Ministry of Interior asked me to go out from the hospital immediately.

Activist and economist Alaa Shehabi wrote, "I left hospital after officer responsible for attack arrived. Nabeel was holding up but looking visibly roughed up."

2054 GMT: The LCCS is reporting that, once again, the Idlib town of Saraqeb is under attack. According to the report, security forces threatened to attack a sit-in if it did not disperse, and the town is now facing artillery and heavy gunfire. This is the eight day of the sit-in, and reports of attacks against the town are becoming common place.

However, many other areas of the country are also reportedly under attack. In Hama,

Intense shooting in Gharb Mashtal neighborhood, near Al-Ajaza roundabout, and in the vicinity of Sheikh Anbar neighborhood, in addition to shooting from inside the garage at Bab Tarablus roundabout.

According to the report, Al Bukamal, in Deir Ez Zor, is under attack, and "many of tanks and security forces headed from Hajjaneh military base towards Ma’arri school and 70s street amid heavy gunfire." Raids are also reported in Harasta, Douma, and sveral other locations.

2048 GMT: Earlier, we reported large protests in the Mezzeh district of Damascus. Now, the LCCS is reporting that security forces have begun to retaliate against the neighborhood.

Damascus: Mazzeh: Many security forces are raiding the Razi Gardens from the Zayyat side and Mustafa neighborhood. This is accompained by electricity blackout and sporadic gunfre after a massive demonstration today against the regime.

2031 GMT: This video, taken from Al Jazeera Mubasher (with English subtitles) shows a short address from Brigadier-General Mustafa Ahmad Al-Sheikh, who reportedly defected from the Syrian regime. There have been several other high profile defections this week, though we believe this is the highest ranking officer to leave the regime yet:

2023 GMT: Activists have posted an interactive map of today's events in Syria. They have put the exact location of today's explosion a few hundred feet north of where our original map had the location:

View Syria - Friday 06/01/2012 in a larger map

2012 GMT: This video apparently shows high-profile Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab immediately before the police open fire with teargas and, according to witnesses, and an EA correspondent, beat Rajab, who is currently in the hospital:

2003 GMT: Bahraini Activist Maryam AlKhawaja reports, "After beating @NABEELRAJAB n detaining him at the hospital, his home and gathering outside now being teargassed ." While Maryam is usually reliable, we'd caution that this is the first time we've heard this report.

1942 GMT: A prominent blogger Tweets a disturbing video from Syria:

VERY GRAPHIC: Man bleeding profusely from the head but it seems he is still breathing, reportedly shot dead in Hama http://t.co/OJ1onFQM

1935 GMT: The following is a Tweet sent from the official account of the Bahraini Ministry of Interior. Based on the information I have posted below, I do not think it needs any further commentary:

After dispersing unauthorized march in Almakharqa in Manama police found man, Nabeel Rajab, lying on the ground & referred him to hospital

1928 GMT: An impressive video from Syria - this was reportedly taken today in the Midan district, not too far away from where the bomb blast went off earlier. Despite the massively heavy security presence, this is another sign that the protest movement in the neighborhood is growing:

1919 GMT: AN EA Correspondent in Bahrain reports more details on what happened to leading activist Nabeel Rajab:

After the officer talked to Nabeel, he want back to his group and they started shooting immediately. I was standing with the protesters writing to you, when suddenly every one was running and pushing each other because of the rapid shooting. There were women with us so I was trying to call on the guys to calm down so the women can get away first, but because the protesters were running fast someone pushed me and I fell on the ground. When I was able to get up the police mercenaries were already behind me, I looked back and one of them was raising his baton to beat me! That's when I just started to run, and heard him shouting at me to stop, but of course I didn't!

I got inside the narrow streets in Manama, until I felt [I was] a bit far [away from] them.. Thanks to a friend who was around the area in her car, she was calling me so I asked her to pick me up. After, she dropped me to my car.

That's when I started calling my others friends who were protesting with me to check on them. I got in my car and tried to drive inside Manama to get to them and get them out...mercenaries were walking in groups holding their guns and some of the roads were blocked, not allowing cars to get in. One of the groups that was walking inside Manama passed beside me, that's when I saw Nabeel Rajab. They were surrounding him and holding his hands, his face looked pale and he was talking to them but they were pushing him. I wanted to talk a picture but it would have been very dangerous.

I called the other HR activists I know and told them of what I saw.

I managed also to get to my friends through the narrow side roads and picked them up to get them out of Manama, because it was very dangerous to walk around with police mercenaries walking too.

1905 GMT: Activist Zilal, who has contacts in Damascus, has helped EA pinpoint the exact location of the bomb blasts in Damascus. According to Zilal, the blast was directly in front of this school, under the highway overpass:

View The Hassan al-Hakeem School (مدرسة حسن الحكيم) in a larger map

1852 GMT: Leading Bahraini activist Zainab alKhawaja reports:

@SAIDYOUSIF was hit with a stun grenade on his leg and fell to the ground, hurting his arms and head #bahrain

@SAIDYOUSIF is not arrested or missing, he was injured with a direct shot of stun grenade #bahrain

1845 GMT: Another major activist in Bahrain may have been arrested. According to his own Twitter stream (which isw being used, presumably, by some of his supporters or staff), Said Yousif Almuhafda, Head of Monitoring & Follow Up for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has disappeared. None of the activists associated with Almuhafda know where he is located, but they are speculating that he has been arrested.

1833 GMT: While 25 or more may have been killed by the bomb blast in Damascus, LCCS is now reporting that 35 have been killed by security forces:

The number of martyrs in Syria rose to 35 among them is a child and a woman, as of now: 9 martyrs in Hama, 14 martyrs in Damascus Suburbs “4 in Harasta,7 in Dumair,2 Qedsaya and 1 Zabadany ,8 martyrs in Homs among them 3 defected soldiers,3 in Idlib one martyr in Daraa.

Looking beyond the grim mathematics of this crisis, there are some interesting patterns inside these numbers. For starters, Damascus was the epicenter for most of the violence, and Hama also saw a large spike in casualties, according to the report. Also, while it appeared to be "quiet" in Homs, the lack of communication may have masked more battles between defectors and the army, leading to the death of 3 defectors. The relatively low reports of violence in Daraa and Idlib suggests that, at least today, the focus for pro-Assad security forces was Damascus, Homs, and Hama, suggesting that the security forces have concentrated more on the center of the country. As we've seen, over the months, these patterns tend to switch weekly.

1827 GMT: An EA correspondent in Bahrain now reports that Nabeel Rajab has indeed been taken to the Salmaniya hospital.

1819 GMT: Lawyer Mohamed AlJishi has reportedly confirmed that Nabeel Rajab was beaten by police and detained before being taken to hospital."

An EA correspondent adds, "Now the police are walking through Manama trying to catch protesters."

1809 GMT: An EA correspondent in Manama in Bahrain confirms, "I saw them arresting Nabeel Rajab."

1800 GMT: Another unconfirmed report that Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has been arrested after the police attack on protesters in Manama: "I saw riot police arresting @NABEELRAJAB with a sign of a hit on his face".

1755 GMT: As we follow the current police attack on protesters in Manama in Bahrain, footage of clashes in Saar earlier today:

1745 GMT: Zainab Alkhawaja updates: "In a house now, hearing [Nabeel Rajab] might have been beaten". Nabeel, the President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was at the protest but has not tweeted anything for the past thirty minutes.

1740 GMT:Zainab AlKhawaja tweets this unsettling account of the protest. Note her extraordinary resilience in sending a final tweet after having been sprayed in the face by police with something:

Riot police standing in our way, protesters chanting "peaceful peaceful!" (see photo below)
Riot police hold their sheilds and come closer
Officer speaks to [Nabeel Rajab] saying "leave now ur protest is illegal" nabeel says "we're peaceful, not doing anything illegal"
They attacked us, sprayed my face with something, sitting in an alley, can hardly see

1736 GMT: We have heard from our correspondent in Manama: "They almost caught me. They sprayed [activist] Zainab Alkhawaja in her face."

1726 GMT: An EA correspondent in Bahrain has sent the following messages, beginning at 1707 GMT:

I joined a march now in Manama city. Nabeel Rajab [the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights] is leading. The crowd are about 1000 men and women.

It's very risky to do a rally inside Manama since the MOI [Ministry of Interior] HQ is there.

We are facing a group of police now. A police officer is talking to Nabeel now --- they are trying to convince us to stop protesting.

They attacked.

The messages ended at that point, at 1718 GMT.

1720 GMT: It has been another day of protest --- and tear gas --- in Bahrain. A protest has just begun in the capital Manama, with demonstraters gathering with families of political detainees to demand their release. There are ominous reports of security forces mobilising and approaching the demonstrators.

Earlier, a peaceful demonstration took place in Malchiya, with protesters sat silently in the street holding placards.

Disturbingly, we have seen more reports across the day of security forces using tear gas in residential areas. This video shows tear gas having been fired on the rooftops of houses in Alqadam. This is not just dangerous in terms of the risks of inhalation, but also the risks of fire. As one tear gas manufacturer, Defence Technology, states in many of its product information leaflets: "It should not be deployed onto rooftops, in crawl spaces, or indoors due to its fire-producing capability" (emphasis in original).

An image from Sanabis apparently captures a similar such incident:

Activists in Bahrain are increasingly trying to get their message out to the West. Our liveblog yesterday noted the protesters banner in Sitra on Wednesday with a message to Obama. Today, Zainab alKhawaja shares photos on twitter of English language graffiti on walls in Bahrain. Zainab comments, "In a country with no freedom of speech our revolutionaries write on the walls. They write in English hoping the world would hear them."

1700 GMT: Al Jazeera reports on the bombing in Damascus:

1648 GMT: Al Jazeera is reporting that the head of the Arab League has reached out to Hamas to seek a solution to the crisis in Syria:

The head of the Arab League said on Friday he had asked the Damascus-based leader of the Palestinian movement Hamas to ask the Syrian government to work to halt violence in the country.

Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby was speaking alongside Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal after a meeting in Cairo.

'I gave him a message today to the Syrian authorities that it is necessary to work with integrity, transparency and credibility to halt the violence that is happening in Syria,' he said.

1637 GMT: The debate over the bombing in Damascus rages on (see our update at 1343 GMT). On December 23rd, the bombing that occurred was in a heavily fortified district of Damascus, and immediately eyewitnesses reported that the area had been closed by security forces before the blast, and was only opened 10 minutes before the explosion, raising the immediate suspicions of several residents who were in the area.

Today appeared different. The Midan district is a growing hotspot for dissent, an area where many protesters gather as it is a residential neighborhood, but one that is close to the center of the capital. The government was claiming, via state TV, that a police vehicle was destroyed by a suicide bomber in the residential neighborhood, not an area with a heavy security presence. However, high-profile activist Rami al-Jarrah casts some interesting light. In a discussion with a skeptic of the opposition's claims, Rami tweets that he believes the incident is highly suspicious:

it was not a suicide attack, it was done at 11am in an area that would be empty at the time filled with security forces

the bombing went off in the area that i use to report from mainly i know it perfectly and it went off in the SF strong hold

its also impossible for someone to do it there, and this is all bullshit

they said the bus was full of SF where as all you can find is blood on one seat

EA is not in a position to verify this at this moment, but we'll continue to monitor the debate.

1626 GMT: Meanwhile, there are reports of gunfire in Midan, Damascus, the neighborhood where a bomb blast killed dozens earlier today. According to the LCCS, "Sound of sporadic shooting is heard in the neighborhood; the reason is unknown."

1612 GMT: According to the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria, 22 have been killed by security forces so far today, "among them is a child and a woman, as of now: 7 martyrs in Hama, 7 martyrs in Damascus Suburbs “4 in Harasta, 1 Qedsaya and 1 Zabadany, Dumair,7 martyrs in Homs among them 3 defected soldiers, one martyr in Idlib."

This number, even by the LCCS' accounting, is likely outdated, as their Facebook page reports heavy gunfire in Al Bokumal, Deir Ez Zor, and the discovery of a body in Homs.

1608 GMT: According to activists, this video, reportedly taken in Madimiyeh, Damascus, shows a man being beaten by "Shabiha" on the street:

1602 GMT: The Guardian has edited together videos from Syrian State TV, SANA. They make this note:

Scenes of men holding up body parts have been removed. But you can still see the mysterious moment when police riot shields were placed in the back of a damaged bus.

1540 GMT: Two videos from Damascus - The first, another angle of the large and defiant protest in Kafer Souseh, an important and central area:

The second, posted by the LCCS, claims to show security forces raiding a neighborhood in Qadam, Damascus. They appear to fire randomnly at one point:

1532 GMT: According to The Guardian,

Syrian state media is now reporting that the death toll from the Midan blast stands at 11, most of them civilians. Additionally, Sana says the remains of 15 unidentified people have been found at the scene and 63 people have been injured. It reports that investigations to identify the victims are ongoing.

As with the 23 December blasts, Sana has posted some gruesome pictures (warning: disturbing content) on its website.

1530 GMT: Scott Lucas has been busy compiling protests videos from across Syria today. He has now posted two video galleries, showing an impressive demonstration of defiance in the light of extreme violence:

See also Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country - Set1 and Set 2

1518 GMT: EA correspondent John Horne reports:

Demonstrations took place across Taza, Morocco on Wednesday, a day after the new government there was installed.

Organised by unemployed university graduates demanding better opportunities and political and economic reform, the demonstrations were attacked by police with many reports of injuries. In retalliation, a discarded police van was set alight.

A striking pair of chronological videos indicates the determination of the protesters. Police advance on a mass of demonstrators, possibly to move them out of the area. However, the protesters rush the police in large numbers and force a retreat.

Taza was a key site of unrest in the protests across Morocco last year sprung from the February 20th Movement. Further demonstrations took place yesterday and they can be expected to continue today.

1515 GMT: This picture has been floating around on Twitter, reportedly showing a morgue in Damascus that contains the bodies of some of those killed in today's bomb blast in Midan:

1508 GMT: Another spectacular picture from Bahrain. Sayed Mohamed reports that this shows women running from teargas in Sanabis. Looking carefully, there is a third woman in the cloud, however because the teargas is so thick she can barely be made out even though she is only a few meters behind the first two.

1501 GMT: The LCCS posts details that seem to confirm part of our earlier report, that security is conducting raids in the Qudsaya suburb of Damascus. Worse yet, however, the LCCS is reporting that here, too, security is raiding some hospitals, and blocking entrance to others:

Security presence near Al-Aamry center and Yahya Hospital, in addition to closure of Bader Hospital and kidnapping four wounded.

1459 GMT: A dramatic video, reportedly taken in the Arbaeen (40th) neighborhood in Hama - a large crowd protests peacefully, until gunfire rings out and the crowd flees the streets:

1453 GMT: This video is a recorded livestream from a mosque in the important Kafer Souseh district in Damascus. At the start of the video, we see the end of the prayer services. Within minutes, however, booming chants fill the mosque, and the crowd pours into the street in protest:

1444 GMT: Rami al-Jarrah also shares a report from his sources near Damascus. In Qudsaya, Rami Tweets that this video shows plain-clothed "shabiha" in the area:

Al-Jarrah claims that 3 have died in the area today at the hands of the security forces, and the security is conducting house-to-house raids right now.

1440 GMT: Activist Rami al-Jarrah reports another high-profile defection in Syria:

right now live on Al Jazeera Mubashar Sleiman an officer is defecting on live television

Airforce military officer Afeef Mahmoud Sleiman has just defected LIVE on tv and is talking about the crimes of the regime

1436 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria post a claim that in Hama the body of a religious leader was taken from a hospital by the regime, and security made other arrests in the hospital to cover their tracks:

Security forces snatched a martyr’s corpse, Sheik Bashar al-Ghaname, along with four injured from Hawarani Hospital. They also arrested two of the Sheik’s brothers and an employee from the hospital. The hospital’s surveillance cameras were confiscated because it contained evidence of the raid, the looting and the kidnapping of the wounded.

1431 GMT: Riad Assad, the commander of the Free Syrian Army, spoke to Al Jazeera earlier. He denounced the attack in Damascus, and accused the regime of specifically carrying out the attack in the Midan district because large peaceful protests were planned there today.

1423 GMT: An activist in Bahrain sends us this video, with the following description:

BuQuwah is being bombarded with toxic gases by Hamad mercenaries:

Meanwhile, this video was reportedly taken earlier in Sanabis, where we have multiple reports (see below) that teargas has been fired:

1408 GMT: The bomb blast in Damascus may be capturing headlines, but it's hardly the only significant thing occurring in Syria. As EA predicted earlier, large protests continue to take place across Syria. This video reportedly shows an impressive protest in the Mezzeh district of Damascus:

1400 GMT: Bahraini activist Zainab Alkhawaja posts this picture, of protesters peacefully marching towards the riot police and teargas, unwilling to be deterred by the crackdown:

1355 GMT: Human Rights Activist Sayed Mohamed posts this video, more teargas attacks against chanting protesters in Sanabis, Bahrain:

1343 GMT: It is important to remember that on December 23rd there were two bomb blasts that rocked the city of Damascus. Activists immediately doubted the government claims, for several reasons. First of all, the Syrian government was quick to blame Al Qaeda, but that terrorist group has very little involvement in the city, and terrorism of this sort is extremely rare. The second reason to doubt the report, the area of the last blast was in a security stronghold, and eyewitnesses all told the same story, that the heavily guarded area was closed to all traffic, then reopened immediately before the blast. The blast killed real people, but the scene was allegedly evacuated first, perhaps to plant the explosives or to minimize the death toll.

Listening to the report from Ian Black, he notes that this is a more residential neighborhood, and the bodies he is seeing are real. We have no doubt that he is absolutely correct, and that real people died. However, he also notes that the death toll, which was first stated as 25, is dropping quickly, and The Guardian's videos are highly suspicious.

It's also interesting that the only two attacks of this kind have happened in Damascus, not in the more heavily embattled regions. Obviously, there is no way of telling whether this attack was staged at this point, and we may never know, but there are certainly holes in the government's claims that these attacks were propagated by Al Qaeda.

1325 GMT: James Miller takes the blog, while Scott Lucas continues his Iran coverage and has also posted a separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

Meanwhile, The Guardian has posted several videos, taken from Syrian State TV, that are highly suspicious, suggesting perhaps that the opposition's claims, that the government planned this bomb attack in Damascus in order to blame the opposition for associating with "Al Qaeda." We'd note that journalist Ian Black seems to believe that this attack is legitimate:

Activist Shakeeb al-Jabri has posted a link to a clip from TV coverage of the blasts, which he says claims to show "state reporters placing objects before filming [the] blast scene".

Plastic bags are placed beside a patch of blood on the ground by someone holding a microphone.

It doesn't amount to much in terms of proof but it at least begs the question as to what someone who apparently is a journalist was doing moving stuff around at a crime scene.

The Guardian also posts this video, which appears to show an "injured" man wave off the camera and then stand up, as if he were not hurt at all.

1310 GMT: Yet more larges protest in Syria --- Ma'arat al Numan in the northwest:

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

1310 GMT: Yet more larges protest in Syria --- Ma'arat al Numan in the northwest:

And Kafr Oaid:

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

1310 GMT: Yet more larges protest in Syria --- Ma'arat al Numan in the northwest:

Ghanto in Homs:

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

1310 GMT: Yet more larges protest in Syria --- Ma'arat al Numan in the northwest:

1245 GMT: Ian Black of The Guardian reports from the scene of this morning's bombing in Damascus: ""It appears a suicide bomber blew himself up close to two or three mini buses and one larger one that were carrying police men and other members of the security forces."

Black adds, "Ever since I got here about an hour and half ago, there have been very large crowds chanting slogans in support of President Assad. You can probably hear them in the background. People are very angry. The scene is pretty grim. There are pools of blood on the pavement. The remains of the suicide bomber are still there and can be seen. It is pretty terrible sight":

1250 GMT: A protest in the Bab Hood section of Homs:

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

Amuda in northeastern Syria today:

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

And a mass rally in Qamishli:

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

1235 GMT: Syria's Ministry of Interior has now announced that "the modus operandi of the attacks and the selection of targeted areas (both of which are crowded in order to kill the biggest number of civilians possible) have the fingerprints of al-Qaeda all over them".

1220 GMT: Bahrain's Ministry of Interior has refused permission to the opposition society Al-Wefaq for a march on Saturday, claiming that it would disrupt traffic and that its proximity to a main road could endanger civilians.

1143 GMT: Syrian State TV is reporting 25 killed and about 50 injured in the explosion in the Midan section of Damascus.

Riad Al Asaad, the head of the Free Syrian Army, has denied involvement in the blast, "No one but regime can do such attacks."

Al Assad continued, "We demand international protection. Killing is going on for 11 months. The regime only understands force."

1137 GMT: Syrian State TV footage of the scene of the explosion in Damascus (Warning: Graphic images of body parts):

1134 GMT: A protest in the Khamidiya section of Hama this morning, "May God Grant Us Victory":

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

The Damascus suburb of Douma:

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

The rally in Binnish in the northwest:

This video has moved to our separate video entry, Syria Video Special: Friday's Mass Protests Across the Country.

1037 GMT: We have posted an analysis by Justin Gengler on Bahrain, "Will 2012 Be Like 2011?", with striking footage from last night's opposition rally in Sitra.

1027 GMT: Syrian state media SANA says there are "tens of victims", with the majority civilians, in the "terrorist explosion" by a "suicide bomber [who] exploded himself at a traffic light". TV commentary and an official said the target was a police bus.

1014 GMT: We are monitoring news of an explosion this morning in the Midan section of Damascus.

Ian Black of The Guardian reports, "Syrian TV is showing bloodstained pavements, damaged cars and corpses being removed from the site of blast. Body parts are being collected and waved in front of the cameras. The broadcaster says there are 'scores of dead' including civilians. It said the explosion was a suicide attack."

Ian Black reports hearing an explosion in Damascus from matthew weaver on Vimeo.

Two blasts on 23 December in Damascus in front of state security buildings killed 44 people. The regime has blamed "armed terrorists" for the explosion; activists claim that the incident was planned by the authorities to cast blame on the opposition.

1010 GMT: Activists are highlighting the case of Hussain Almoumen, a mechanical engineering student at Bahrain Polytechnic, who was arrested on Wednesday when the police raided his grandfather’s house after the funeral procession for 16-year-old Sayed Hashim. Hussain is the brother of Ali Almoumen, killed by police in an attack on Pearl Roundabout, the centre of protests, on 17 February:

A video of the raid:

1004 GMT: Reuters interviews Syrian actress Fadwa Suleiman, who has come to the fore in protests in Homs against the Assad regime: "We're a civilized and peaceful nation. We cannot let the regime with a simple ploy [to whip up sectarian conflict] make us slaughter each other to justify its existence."

0959 GMT: General Ilker Basbug, the former head of Turkey's armed forces, has been imprisoned on charges of leading a terror organisation and conspiring to bring down the government.

Basbug was deatined after after seven hours of questioning by prosecutors investigating allegations that the military funded dozens of websites aimed at discrediting the Government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2009.

0759 GMT: Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal El Ganzouri has said that the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will remain in power until at least June, denying rumours that it could give up power as early as April.

El Ganzouri called on all political groups to give the interim Government a chance and wait for the end of the transitional period, with a new Parliament and an elected President: "Leave the power to whom? The country has been aspiring for change for 60 years and suddenly it cannot wait for six months?”

0759 GMT: Algeria’s main opposition parties have demanded that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika remove Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and appoint an interim cabinet of technocrats to ensure a Parliamentary election later this year is not manipulated.

“If Bouteflika is serious about free and fair elections, he must accept our demands, and appoint a new government with one task: to supervise the elections,” said Fateh Rebai of the Ennahda Party. "If we really want free and fair elections, we must change the government. We do not trust it. (Election) fraud will mean that the government is not serious about reforms, making a revolt a very likely scenario.”

Two other Islamist parties, the MSP and the Front for Justice and Development, and the secularist Workers’ Party also demanded a new government.

0755 GMT: Egyptian prosecutors have bailed three activists of the April 6 Youth Movement, detained on Tuesday for distributing posters criticising the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Some charges, including insulting the military and attempting to overthrow the regime, were dropped, but the activists still face trial over disturbing public security and distributing posters without permission.

0745 GMT: Hundreds of Libyan soldiers protested on Thursday in the eastern city of Benghazi, demanding payment of overdue wages and complaining that militia groups had taken over their bases and were not interested in joining a new national army.

The soldiers, part of the force of the Muammar Qaddafi regime, gathered outside a branch of the central bank in their military uniforms and clutching their arms. They said the new government should focus on building a new force rather than giving cash compensation to former insurgents who have formed regional militia.

0725 GMT: Syrian activists have labelled today's demonstrations "Internationalisation is Our Demand", as they seek outside support for the challenge to the Assad regime. While noting the importance of that issue, EA's James Miller offers an analysis looking at escalation of protests and crackdowns in both Syria and Bahrain and asking, "Will New History Be Made?"

Al Arabiya is already reporting a clash in Syria, with Arab League monitors withdrawing from the Damascus suburb of Arbeen after forces loyal to President Assad opened fire on them as they toured the streets.

Storyful summarises Wednesday's tale in Bahrain of protests, a funeral procession, and the response by security forces, including this dramatic image:

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