Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Bloodiest Day in the Conflict?

Footage from Al-Manar TV of the aftermath of Wednesday's bombings and attack by insurgents on Army Staff HQ in Damascus, with gun battles and bodies of three opposition fighters inside the building

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EA Video Analysis: Syria --- An Introduction to "The Grind of the Conflict"
Wednesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Double Explosion Hits Army Staff HQ in Damascus

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2037 GMT: Iraq. CNN's Ivan Watson reports on thousands of internally-dsiplaced Syrians, camping out and sleeping in the dirt because they cannot cross the Turkish border:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Double Explosion Hits Army Staff HQ in Damascus

Smoke this morning above Army Staff Headquarters in Damascus after two explosions

See also Syria 1st-Hand: The Insurgents' PR Quest for Ammunition in Aleppo
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "The Situation Has Gone from Bad to Worse"

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1820 GMT: Syria. In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has upheld his initiative of a four-nation contact group --- Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran --- and declared, "The bloodshed in Syria and the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded, must be stopped."

A full English-language text of the speech has been posted.

1720 GMT: Syria. Back from a long break for a business meeting to find the official casualty figure for today's double bombing near Army Staff Headquarters is six dead –-- t four security guards and two suicide bombers --- and 14 wounded.

Security has been increased in the area of the explosions with roadblocks and checkpoints. A resident said, "Most of the people who work at governmental institutions could not go to work today."

Meanwhile, the Local Coordination Committees report one of the bloodiest days in the 18-month conflict, with 290 people killed by security forces. The 162 dead in Damascus and its suburbs include a claim of 107 people slain in a mass killing in al-Thiabieh. There are also 37 killed in Deir Ez Zor Province, 26 in Homs Province, and 25 in Daraa Province.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Insurgents Attack Around Aleppo

Live Coverage has been re-titled and moved to the top of the homepage, "Double Explosion Hits Army Staff HQ in Damascus".

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting, Snipers, and Death Throughout Aleppo

Demonstration on Saturday night in the Rukneddin section of Damascus

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Tunisia Video Interview: Ennadha Party Leader Rachid Ghannouchi "Violence is Not the Answer"
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting, Snipers, and Death Throughout Aleppo

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1842 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees claim 51 people have been killed by security forces today, including 14 in Damascus and its suburbs, 10 in Aleppo Province, and 10 in Daraa Province.

1822 GMT: Syria. A demonstration tonight in the Damascus suburb of Hamourieh:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Proclaims, "We Will Defeat Armed Groups", as His Planes Kill 100s of Civilians

1902 GMT: Syria. The inevitable attack on the border crossing at Tal Abyad, north of Al Raqqah, started earlier this morning. Regime tanks and ground forces finally reached the city after having been blocked yesterday.

However, residents in Turkey expressed panicked concern, as the attack was just on the other side of the border:

The sound of explosions caused fear in Akçakale, as Syrian tanks and artillery pounded rebel positions in Tell Abyad. Smoke from the explosions crossed onto the Turkish side of the border as the battle for the town raged on roughly 300 meters from the frontier.

1842 GMT: Syria. At least 100 people have been killed today by regime forces, according to the LCC:

38 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs, including 17 people who were martyred in Buwaida massacre; 15 in Aleppo; 15 in Homs; 13 in Idlib; 8 in Daraa; 7 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Hama; 1 in Lattakia and 1 in Raqqa,

See our note on the casualty figures posted by the LCC.

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EA Special: Mitt Romney's "Deviant" Politics, a Slain Ambassador, and the Death of American Objectivity

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There are legitimate reasons to question the administration on many issues, including foreign policy. There are looming questions, like whether drone strikes in Yemen have made us safer, whether there should be intervention in Syria, or how the US can stop Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu from pre-emptively striking Iran and dragging us into a war that our military commanders do not want to fight. There are questions about Pakistan and Afghanistan, China and Mexico, Bahrain and Egypt and Libya. But we're not discussing these because, rather than confront President Obama within the sphere of legitimate controversy, Romney and the GOP have resorted to pulling our entire political dialogue into the sphere of deviance.

This has dangerous implications for American politics. And the media has played an important role in the downward spiral. Terrible daily coverage of the Middle East has led to sensational coverage of events that are more drama than substance. At the same time, a fear of confronting deviance has lent legitimacy to questions that are not legitimate. Those wishing to exploit the media's fear of perceived bias have poisoned the well of public discourse, and the media has distributed the water because, well, they think that it is their job.

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Iran Analysis: Tehran Hurts Itself With Muddled Messages on Syria

General Jafari & President AhmadinejadRevolutionary Guards Commander Jafari's message on Sunday, backed by this chiding of Ankara, appears to be, "We are in Syria. Deal with it." Perhaps someone in Tehran planned it as part of a carrot-and-stick strategy, with the commander offering the tough posture while the President was saying, "Look, you really want us in talks."

More likely, however, is that there is no strategist --- not Jafari, not Ahmadinejad, not the Foreign Ministry, not the Supreme Leader --- thinking through the statements and Iran's actions. And that failure is likely to set Iran back in its effort to retain some influence in the Syrian situation.

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MENA Audio Feature: Beginner's Guide to the Mohammad Film and the Violence --- Scott Lucas with the BBC

Demonstrators in Sudan set fire to the German Embassy on Friday

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I spoke with BBC WM yesterday afternoon about the US-produced film, "The Innocence of Muslims", that contributed to demonstrations and violence across North Africa and the Middle East. 

Looking at how the film emerged from badly-made trailer on the Internet to centre of controversy, I spoke with Paul Franks about deeper causes for the protests and clashes. Take-away line? While the confrontations are fuelled by anger at US foreign policy and actions and the planning of radical groups, the film was "throwing a cultural firebomb and standing back to watch the flames spread".

The item starts at the 1:10:10 mark.

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Re-Focusing on the Conflict

The moment that crowds charged the US Embassy in Yemen on Thursday

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Thursday's Libya, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Extraordinary Death, "Everyday" Death
MENA Video Special: The Biggest and Most Important Protests are in Syria

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2146 GMT: Syria. Earlier we reported that the Free Syrian Army conducted an offensive against Assad positions in the Saleh el Dine district of Aleppo. We also reported that there were rumors that the Assad military retreated after the battle. Now, we've found many videos showing fighters inside the district today, claiming that they have captured the entire area. But this may be the most compelling evidence.

The video below claims to show the district being shelled, an activity that would not be possible if Assad troops were still in the district. Another video shows fires burning there, reportedly the result of the shelling:

The key to winning any battle is to maintain the initiative. The Assad regime is failing to do that. The FSA is mixing up attacks in the east with assaults on the military airport, and really disrupted the pattern of battle last weekend when they briefly captured a major military base in the heart of the city. The center of the city has been shelled for four days, and now this turn of events suggests that, at least for the moment, the Assad regime is more content to sit back and shell opposition forces than fight them on the streets.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The UN Tries Again With Assad

1618 GMT: Bahrain EA's John Horne reports:

A group of Human Rights organisations have written to US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton "asking her to suspend all US military aid to the government of Bahrain because of its human rights violations".

The letter brings attention to the US Leahy Law (Section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act) which states that:

No assistance shall be furnished under this Act or the Arms Export Control Act to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.

The NGO's cite a series of reports which they argue constitute "credible information", adding that "attacks by the police and other security forces on unarmed, non-violent, pro-democracy activists rise to the level of 'gross human rights violations,' particularly so when the attacks resulted in death.

The letter continues:

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