Yemen, Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: City on Fire
Friday, June 3, 2011 at 9:52 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2115 GMT: We'll be shutting down the liveblog for the night. We'll be back at 0530 GMT tomorrow.
Here is a roundup of the news.
In Syria, protesters took to the streets all across the country during what protesters were calling "Children's Friday." Reports were that these wre the largest protests yet, but the internet was almost completely shut off. Still, we have many videos posted in a separate section:
Latest Syria Video: Protesters Defy the Internet Blockout
The scale of the protests would have been major news, but they were overshadowed by violence. Protesters were killed in Taiz, security forces continued to shell Al Rastan, but the big news was that the military opened fire on a crowd of 50,000 peaceful demonstrators in Hama, killing at least 70.
In Yemen, the big news of the day was the rocket attack which hit the Presidential palace and wounded President Saleh and an unknown number of his advisors. However, there were also protests elsewhere, and at least 4 civilians were killed by government air strikes in Abyan.
Latest Yemen Video: Protests Among the Chaos in Sana'a
In Libya, the rebels have made significant advances, and now threaten the city of Tripoli.
In Bahrain, there were major protests and clashes with security forces (video below).
Just another Arab Spring Friday.
2059: Another country heard from...
Breaking news: Protests have erupted in Egypt over the death of a microbus driver in Azbakeya. He was arrested yesterday for a traffic violation, and died in custody. There is a report that he attacked one of the officers, though details are all emerging from Twitter right now.
There is also a report that a gunfight between the relatives of the man and police was the ultimate catalyst.
There appear to be clashes between protesters and security forces in Azbakeya and Ramses. Below is a picture of a truck lit on fire in Ramses.
