Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: An Inconvenient Beating, An Inconclusive Meeting

2205 GMT: That last update appears to be even more significant than we originally thought. First of all, an opposition Facebook page says that there were clashes between anti-government protesters and Bahraini police yesterday in the village of Al Dair. Apparently, there was another protest in Al Dair tonight (see a photo gallery posted by activists).

But the significant piece of evidence is this video, which shows a crowd being attacked by plain-clothed men. The attackers then appear to grab a young boy and drag him away. Towards the end of the video, a white van, which appears to be similar to one used by police, appears in the frame, suggesting that the plain-clothed men are the same as the ones in the last video and are working with the police. At the very end of the video, a policeman appears and fires teargas towards the now-scattered crowd, confirming this suspicion:

A daytime rally, reportedly today in Al Dair village:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Watching an Explosion

Footage of the moment a bomb exploded in Damascus on Friday

See also Bahrain Interview: Nabeel Rajab - How Police Attacked the Manama March and Beat Me
Bahrain Feature: Dar Kulaib --- The Regime's "Sectarian" Tactics and A Village Under Assault
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Starting 2012 With a Bang

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2110 GMT: Richard Sollom, Deputy President of the U.S.-based Physicians for Human Rights, has been denied entry into Bahrain despite the regime's pledge of transparency over its legal and political procedures.

Sollom, an American citizen, intended to observe Monday's hearing in civilian court in the case of 20 doctors and nurses who have been given prison sentences of 5 to 15 years by a military tribunal.

2010 GMT: Protesters march in Sitra in Bahrain today, chanting, "We have a right to defend ourselves" --- police subsequently fired tear gas at a group of demonstrators on the main highway:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: What Happens When the Observers Leave?

Protesters stand in front of massed ranks of police in Sitra in Bahrain today (Photo: Mazen Mahdi)

See also The Real Net Effect: Andy Carvin & the Power of Twitter
Saudi Arabia Feature: A Princess in London Calls for Reforms
Bahrain Feature: An Uprising In The NumbersBahrain 1st-Hand: Mariam Al Sarraj and the Raid on Salihiya
Tuesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Newsflash --- "The Killings Continue"

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2115 GMT: The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information updates on four activists of the 6 April Movement who were detained on Monday for sticking up posters critical of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. One was released today, but three remain in detention and will appear before judge on Thursday morning.

2035 GMT: More photographs from Mazen Mahdi of protest and police in Sitra today:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Newsflash --- "The Killings Continue"

2135 GMT: Zainab Alkhawaja provides details of this latest woman killed in Bahrain. According to her Twitter stream, the woman is named Fakhriya Jassim, 55 years old. She inhaled teargas in the town of Isa on New Year's Eve. According to Zainab:

Fakhriya's son says a day before she died his mother kept saying "this time the tear gas is different" she could barely talk. The night be4 being exposed to the teargas Fakhriya was fine, she went out shopping

She was the mother of 5 children, and had 10 grandchildren, according to alKhawaja.

We're still hearing rumors of more tear gas in Bahrain tonight.

2127 GMT: We've been tracking reports of teargas in Bahrain for the last hour or so, but not activists are reporting that a woman has died from teargas suffocation tonight. Said Yousif Almuhafda reports:

#Bahrain picture of fakhrya jassim alsakean who died today after sofecatung from tear gas .im with her family now

2050 GMT: This video was reportedly taken earlier today in Hama. Citizens talk to the Arab League observers, and one yells out, "They've massacred us."

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Futility of the Observers?

2049 GMT: There are impressive videos pouring in, and along with eyewitness reports, they show that protests continue into the night across Syria. So far, one of our favorite videos shows a protest taking place, almost completely in the dark after power was cut, in Khirbat al Ghazalah, Daraa. But perhaps the best-lit video shows a large protest in Irbeen, an important suburb of Damascus, and is posted by the Coalition of Free Damascenes For Peaceful Change:

2044 GMT: Two videos claim to show the moment security forces opened fire on protesters in Daraya, a Damascus suburb:

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Syria Special: Observing the Observers --- Evidence of The Abuses in Homs

Residents of Homs show observers the body of a 5-year-old child killed by gunfire

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Looking at the evidence of the last two days, witnessed by the observers on the ground, the situation in Syria is unsustainable. This evidence clearly implicates the Assad regime, but regardless of who is at fault, this situation is clearly a humanitarian disaster. Contrary to earlier statements by Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, nothing about what we have posted above is "reassuring."

To borrow from the Latin phrase, "who is watching the watchers?" As it turns out, thanks to the citizen journalists, the Arab League will now find it very difficult to create their own narrative without mentioning these scenes.

And as these amateur videos spread through the media, the Arab League is likely to feel more international pressure to finally act to end the crisis in Syria.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Will Arab League Observers Make a Difference?

Protesters in front of the headquarters of the ruling Ba'ath Party in the Syrian capital Damascus last night

See also Syria Special: Who is Observing What, and What Will Happen When They Finish?
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Pounding Homs

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2108 GMT: Citizen journalist Khaled Abu Salah confronts the head of the Arab League observers, Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi:

Another video of the chaos and gunfire surrounding the observers in Bab Sbaa in Homs:

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Syria Special: Who is Observing What, and What Will Happen When They Finish?

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I don't need to sugar coat this: there are a lot of people who have no faith in the Arab League mission in Syria. For starters, we already know what they will find. International observers, though limited in both numbers and opportunities to investigate independently, have given us conclusions. According to US Ambassador Robert Ford, or the UN delegation that visited in August, or the few reporters brave enough to smuggle themselves into Syria, President Assad is killing a lot of people and torturing many. And there is only one way to end this mess, with Assad giving up power.

Few of these facts are in question. Much of the counter-narrative provided by the Syrian regime has either been proven false or is a weak defense --- "some individuals are guilty of crimes" --- for the scale of the regime's carnage. If only half the claims of the activists are true, then the number of people who have died from violence in Syria this year is four times greater than in Egypt.

So why are there observers present, who are they, what will they see, and what will they do about it? Let's work backwards.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Uncertainty and Deaths in Homs

A march last night in the Al Bab section of Aleppo in Syria

Bahrain Feature: Today's Revival of Mass Protests
Syria Opinion: Beyond the "Sectarian" Spectre --- Everyone in Homs is a Victim
Bahrain Opinion: The US and "The Wrong Side of History"
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: As Dozens Die in a Kidnapping, Damascus Responds to Arab League

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2110 GMT: Another video complementing our special feature on today's renewal of protests and clashes in Bahrain --- security forces mobilise in Aldaih in front of the house of the Vice President of Al Wefaq, the largest opposition group:

Meanwhile, Bahrain authorities, having initially said that a package detonated at the national airport contained explosives, now say that it had "tools used to make explosives".

The Ministry of Interior initially claimed that a group had sent explosives from Britain via Dubai, but it now asserts that the package was a "dummy" to test Bahrain's defences.

2010 GMT: More protest video from Syria tonight --- a rally in Bousr Al Harer in Daraa Province:

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: As Dozens Die in a Kidnapping, Damascus Responds to Arab League

See also Syria Feature: Reflections on Razan Ghazzawi, Now Detained
Monday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Sorting Out "Shameless Acts of Terror"

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2110 GMT: Tonight's mass demonstration in Deir Ez Zor in northeast Syria:

2048 GMT: Yemen Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa said today that an interim government will be formed in the next 48 hours.

The announcement came as forces of President Saleh and those of dissident military and tribes pulled back from some positions in the southern city of Taiz, after at least 20 people were killed in the last five days.

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