0451 GMT: James Miller is going to bed. Scott Lucas will be picking things up, with a brand new Live blog and a brand new URL. Check back between 0530 and 0600 GMT.
Senior Libyan rebel figure Mahmoud Jibril said early Monday there are still pockets of resistance in Tripoli from forces loyal to strongman Muammer Gaddafi, after rebels surged into the capital.
"I warn you, there are still pockets of resistance in and around Tripoli," Jibril said in a speech on the opposition television station al-Ahrar.
"You have to be aware that some pockets are coming from the east and you have to be cautious. The fight is not over yet. God willing, in a few hours our victory will be complete."
01:48 GMT: We're closing the live blog for a bit, but will be up and running in (gulp) a few short hours.
James was about to sign off with a report that it is quiet in Tripoli now. However, Matthew Price, a correspondent in Tripoli, sent this tweet about 10 minutes ago:
It did go quiet for a bit but appears it was a lull. Sounds of heavy fire now and explosions
It's going to be a long night in Tripoli, and a long couple of days for the EA crew. But it's going to be a much longer few days for the Gaddafi regime, so stay tuned...
01:03 GMT: The Head of Political affairs for the National Transitional Council, Fathi Baja, gave a statement to Reuters:
"There is certain information tells that forces loyal to Gaddafi withdrew and left their weapons behind in areas outside Tripoli. And I think everything is in order in Tripoli, rebels are approaching al-Sareem Street nearby Babal-Azizia complex. Gaddafi may be coerced to flee if he managed to co-ordinate it with some countries, but I hopeto arrest him to be tried with his sons and his assistants in Libya"
00:56 GMT: This video, shared by Human Rights Watch's Nabeel Rajab, shows Bahraini soldiers firing tear gas, and possible rubber or live bullets, at protesters. We are unsure when this was taken, but it was posted to Youtube tonight. Also shared by Rajab, and posted by the same youtube account as the first, is a video that shows Bahraini security forces breaking into cars.
After six months battling a rebellion that his family portrayed as an Islamist conspiracy, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s son and one-time heir apparent said Wednesday that he was reversing course to forge a behind-the-scenes alliance with radical Islamist elements among the Libyan rebels to drive out their more liberal-minded confederates.
“The liberals will escape or be killed,” the son, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, vowed in an hourlong interview that stretched past midnight. “We will do it together,” he added, wearing a newly grown beard and fingering Islamic prayer beads as he reclined on a love seat in a spare office tucked in a nearly deserted downtown hotel. “Libya will look like Saudi Arabia, like Iran. So what?”
A rebel spokesman told Reuters that a small attack had been launched against pro-Gaddafi forces earlier on Wednesday, resulting in the destruction of three of their tanks. He said that Gaddafi's forces had fired Grad rockets, but that no casualties had been reported.
The rebels have been pledging to use Ramadan as an opportunity to refocus on toppling Gaddafi. The opposition in Syria and Bahrain, based on the spectacular video below, has similar ideas. Come back tomorrow and watch what happens, and thanks for reading ~ James Miller
Photo: CNNWhen Libyan government minders last brought CNN to Zlitan about a week and a half ago, it was to see a large pro-Gadhafi rally in the city's main square. Crowds of Libyans waved green government flags, fired guns in the air, and fervently pledged their loyalty to their embattled leader.
But the scene was dramatically different Monday, as fire trucks and ambulances regularly raced through the city's largely deserted streets. Many shops appeared to be closed, and the ominous rumble of warplanes could be heard overhead periodically.
2000 GMT: Activists claims Syrian troops have assaulted the village of Sarjeh in Idleb Province in the northwestern Syria. Troops backed by tanks reportedly entered the village, arresting residents as electricity and water supplies were cut off.
Activists also reported reinforcements entering Homs and detentions in the capital of Damascus, especially the Rukn ad-Deen and Qaboun neighbourhoods where protests have escalated.
1950 GMT: A march in Nuwaidrat in Bahrain in support of opposition activist Ibrahim Sharif, who has been sentenced to five years in prison.
July 22nd will be remembered by the world, because of a terrible act of terrorism in Norway, the bombing outside the Prime Minister's office in Oslo and the shootings in Utoeya. Many died, and the country was terrorized, but history might miss what may be a more important story, with larger implications.
In Syria, July 22nd may be remembered as a turning point. There were massive demonstrations in every major region, and in every major city, in the country.
In our first video blog, Scott Lucas documented protests in Idlib in the northwest, Artouz (Damascus province), Binnish (northwest), a truly massive protest in Hama (claims of 650,000+ protesters in the streets), Aleppo, Saraqab (Idlib province), Qamishili (northeast), Horan (south), Kobanî (Ain Arab) and Serê Kaniyê (Ras al-Ain) in the Kurdish area of Syria, Kafr Nabl in the northwest, and the Midan section at the heart of Damascus.
In our second video special, we see more massive protests in the Midan and Al-Qadam districts of Damascus, the suburbs of Damascus (Tal Rifaat, Harasta), huge crowds in Deir Ez Zor, northeast Syria, where as many as 550,000 gathered, Zabadani (north of Damascus), Idlib (northwest), Halfaya (Hama province), Jableh on the coast, Al-Raqqa, Lattakia, Homs, and the largest protest in Hama we've seen yet.
In one of the most important videos we've seen today, Syrian security bashes into the Amne Mosque in Aleppo, beating protesters. Perhaps even more important, the video we've posted below (1538) shows that military cadets joined the protesters in Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria, a city that has been unable to foster a sustained protest movement, but a city that erupted in protest today.
The security forces have fled Hama and Deir Ez Zor, they are trying to quell the protests in Homs and around Damascus and Aleppo, but they are not succeeding. It is hard to imagine that the regime has any strongholds of significance left. Through crackdowns, and threats of sectarian violence, the protests have only grown in both scale, scope, and reach. To repeat the rhetorical questions I asked earlier; Where AREN'T they protesting in Syria?
In Yemen, we also saw huge protests in several cities, where the protest movement also shows new signs of life (see videos at 1305).
We opened today's liveblog with Bahrain, so we'll close it with night protests in Bahrain.
1615 GMT: Abdel Karim Rihawi of the Arab League of Human Rights has claimed that security forces killed two protesters and wounded in Deir Ez Zor in northeastern Syria on Thursday.
Rihawi said the mood was "tense and residents are observing a general strike". Videos indicate there have been stoppages in other cities in the country.
At least seven people were reportedly slain late Wednesday in Idlib Province in the northwest by security forces.
1515 GMT: The Libyan regime has halted all cooperation with Italian energy firm ENI, Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi has said.
ENI, with a presence in Libya since the 1950s, is the biggest foreign oil company in the country, but it has suspended operations and establishing ties with the opposition.
Al-Mahmoudi said the regime was in talks with Russian, Chinese and American firms over new projects in Libya, but he did not give details except to say US firms could invest because Washington is not taking a direct role in the NATO bombing of Libya.
1459 GMT: Protesters march today in Al Khamis, Yemen:
Sunday, August 21, 2011 at 16:58 | 
