• UN to discuss draft Syria resolution
• Veto-wielding Russia says draft remains 'unacceptable'
• Egypt protesters take to Tahrir for 'second Friday of rage'
• Read the latest summary
Night has fallen on Egypt, but the protests are still going strong.
According to Ahram Online, the Muslim Brotherhood are still coming under attack in Tahrir, with protesters telling them to get down from their stage and "get out" of the square.
And protesters have also stayed at the Maspero state television headquarters, reports Jack Shenker.
Some of the most dramatic scenes from Cairo today appear to have come from the storming of the Syrian embassy.
In this video, men- some with Syrian flags wrapped around them- smash the glass of a portrait of Bashar al-Assad and stamp repeatedly on his face. Several are seen waving flags out of the windows, while others take to ripping up what appears to be another picture of their loathed president.
More detail on the draft resolution due to be discussed at the UN later today (3pm New York time).
According to AP, which has obtained a copy, the resolution:
• condemns the "continued widespread and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities."
• expresses support for the Arab League's attempt "to facilitate a political transition leading to a democratic, plural political system".
• does not mention sanctions, but calls for the adoption of unspecified "further measures, in consultation with the League of Arab States," if Syria does not comply within 15 days.
(It is these "further measures", among other points, to which Russia objects.)
Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has told the General Affairs Council in Brussels that the UN was perhaps "finally" ready to tackle the crisis.
There is now a chance that the Security Council will finally take a clear stand on Syria. That is long overdue.
On that attack of the Syrian embassy in Cairo: Journalist Ian Lee seems to have seen the damage for himself.
Broken flag pole and glass from a break in at the Syrian embassy by anti-Assad protesters in #Egypt. #Syria twitter.com/ianinegypt/sta…
— Ian Lee (@ianinegypt) January 27, 2012
Here's a wrap-up of Syrian developments today.
• The head of Arab League observer mission, Mohammed al-Dabi, reported a "very high escalation" in the violence in the last three days.
The Local Coordination Committees in Syria claimed 119 people died in the last two days alone. They included five children from one family in what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights aid was a "massacre" in Homs.
Unicef says at least 384 children have been killed since the uprising began in March.
A further 46 people were killed today, according to the LCC.
• Funerals of those killed by the security forces continue to be a focus for large scale demonstrations. In the Damascus suburb of Saqaba tens of thousands of people attended the funeral under the protection of the Free Syrian Army, according to a BBC film crew in the area.
• Saudi Arabia is poised to follow Libya's example by recognising the Syrian National Council as the legitimate authority in Syria. The move, which is expected to be followed by other Gulf states, represents a further escalation in pressure from Riyadh against the Assad regime. Earlier this Saudi Arabia pulled out of the Arab League monitoring mission, followed soon after by the other Gulf states.
• The United Nations security council is today expected to discuss a draft resolution backed by most Arab states that calls for the Assad regime to surrender its totalitarian hold on Syria. The closed door discussion was called ahead of a possible vote next week on the resolution. It marks a new phase in the regional stand against Syria.
• Russia, however, again made clear its opposition to the draft. The Security Council member said it remained "unacceptable" in its current form. Moscow is understood to want a clause ruling out military intervention. Activists in Syria carried banners criticising Moscow today.
The Syrian embassy in Cairo has proved another flashpoint today.
AFP reports that scores of Assad opponents stormed the building before being dragged away by security forces.
At least 200 protesters forced their way into the building in the Garden City neighbourhood in Cairo, breaking doors and windows, before Egyptian security officials arrived and took them out. No arrests were made.
Syrian Ambassador Yusef Ahmed said he would formally complain to the authorities. He said:
The Syrian embassy is being targeted. We will be sending a formal letter calling for the embassy to be protected. The protection today was very weak.
Protesters are shown on this video massing outside the Maspero building, which is located on the banks of the Nile just north of the Ramses Hilton hotel.
This picture, meanwhile, shows protesters hanging a sign on the barbed wire surrounding the building that says: "The People will bring down military rule".
There have been more scuffles between Islamist and revolutionaries in Tahrir Square, writes Abdel Rahman Hussein.
Anger spilled over at the Muslim Brotherhood stage after Quran verses from a loud speaker drowned out chants against the military rulers. Protesters began chanting traitors at those on stage and threw garbage and bottles.
Many speakers went on stage - not all from the Brotherhood - in an attempt to calm protesters but to no avail. Around the stage members of the Brotherhood held a cordon around it. They were asked to remove their green Freedom and Justice Party caps by those onstage. Even after some on the stage chanted against military rule they still were jeered.
Mosa'ab Elshamy has a similar account.
More stones and empty bottles thrown at MB stage as an Azhar sheikh tries to calm protesters.
— Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) January 27, 2012
Ikhwan forming multiple line cordon to separate angry youth from the stage. Starting to get ugly.
— Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) January 27, 2012
Nora Shalaby was one of those chanting against the Brotherhood.
We are chanting against #SCAF inspite of ikhwan and their stage. #tahrir. Their speakers have been cut off!!
— Nora Shalaby ن. شلبي (@norashalaby) January 27, 2012
The prestigious Al-Azhar university is to ask Egypt's military authorities to hand over power "immediately" to a civilian council, the Egypt Independent reports.
Scholars from the preeminent Sunni institution have constructed a nine-point statement to help solve Egypt's current political crisis, said Sheikh Gamil Allam, a former dean of Al-Azhar's Faculty of Islamic Law.
The statement will urge the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to transfer power to a council headed by respected civilian figures, including Hamdeen Sabbahi, Noha al-Zeiny, Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, Hossam Eissa, George Ishaq, Ahmed Harara and Ghada Kamal, as well as a member from the SCAF.
The SCAF should also begin accepting presidential nominations, and prepare to draft the new constitution and hold a referendum on its legitimacy within 60 days, Allam added.
A funeral turned protest in the Damascus suburb of Saqaba demonstrates the strength to which protesters are protected by military defectors, the BBC's Jeremy Bowen reports.
saqaba funeral #Damascus remarkable as it shows extent to which Free Syria army active in the capital. Not good news for Pres #Assad
— Jeremy Bowen (@jfjbowen) January 27, 2012
doesn't mean #assad about to fall. He is strong support among his own allawite community, also Christians and other minorities. And guns
— Jeremy Bowen (@jfjbowen) January 27, 2012
but clear authority of#Assad gone in significant parts of poor #Damascus suburbs. Regime forces can enter -- but it takes force and men
— Jeremy Bowen (@jfjbowen) January 27, 2012
Bowen's producer added:
MT @dcinfocus Stopped at #FSA checkpoint outside #Saqaba, got out 2 film a man with a pistol. he wouldn't let me until i had a cookie #Syria
— Cara Swift (@cswift2) January 27, 2012
Activists have circulated this video of a funeral in Saqaba today. It is unclear if this is the event Bowen is referring to.
Abdel Rahman Hussein has made it to Tahrir Square.
The mere fact that I managed to get in means the numbers aren't as big as Wednesday, but there are still marches yet to come in from Qasr El Nile bridge.
There is some tension in Tahrir as the Brotherhood stage is blaring Quranic verses at a loud volume and protesters are insisting on chanting down with military rule and "traitors" at them. A man onstage asked people to respect the Quran only to have bottles thrown in his direction.
Tensions have also erupted in another part of Cairo as pro-democracy protesters encountered dozens of military supporters chanting "the army and people are one hand".
As the protesters made their way the the Defence Ministry building, AP reports:
The pro-military group formed a human chain across an intersection, but the protesters pushed through them, shouting "down with military rule."
Outside barbed wire and armored vehicles guarding the ministry, the protesters chanted against the generals. Protester Ahmed al-Aish said the rally was to deliver a message to the military, "You must go."
Earlier this week Cairo academic and activists Kaheld Fahmy, chair of the history department at the American University in Cairo, explained why he could never bring himself to chant the slogan "the army and the people are one hand".
Writing in the independent al-Masry al-Youm, he said:
I never believed that the army had ever sided with or protected the revolution. In fact, I suspected that the junta, aka the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, was the revolution's worst enemy, and that it would spare no effort to abort it. Unfortunately, time has confirmed my worst fears about the junta, for ever since assuming power, it has not missed an opportunity to kill, maim, arrest and/or slander the young men and women of the revolution
.
Egyptian reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei may have withdrawn from the presidential racee, but he is still making his presence felt.
The Nobel peace laureate appeared briefly at Wednesday's rally in Cairo.
Now he has called for parliament to elect and interim president immediately, followed by a new constitution
Way forward after a year of erratic transition :1-Interim president elected by parliament 2-Constituent assembly to draft new constitution
— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) January 27, 2012
In a statement on his Facebook page, ElBaradei said the new charter "must define the political system and guarantee a civil state, rights and freedoms."
A president would then be elected "whose powers are defined by the new constitution" followed by elections for a new parliament, he said.
"After a year of fumbling, it is time to agree on correcting the course," he said.
The Arabist says many will question the timing of ElBaradei's plan:
The thing is, many will now wonder why he did not announce this initiative at the same time he made his announcement about withdrawing from the presidential race. ElBaradei left the scene without a clear explanation of what his alternative plan was, and this will seem opportunistic to some, especially when he did not come to Tahrir. I've met people who would be his natural supporters who said they'd like to punch him in the face for wasting their time for the past year – which I think is an ungenerous attitude considering ElBaradei was a crucial part of the things that made the revolution possible ...
There is a desire for a constitutional drafting process without SCAF oversight, that much is clear from the slogans and posters in the celebrations of the first anniversary of the uprising on Wednesday and today's massive turnout in Tahrir (and presumably elsewhere) on that theme (although the square presumably also has plenty of people who don't see things the same way). ElBaradei's proposal offers a plan to do just that. But is it something that, today, is politically feasible? Too soon to tell – the "no constitution under military rule" movement will need support from political parties and the public.
Thousands of protesters have gathered outside the Maspero state television building in Cairo in what Jack Shenker says could "dramatically" raise the chances of today's 'day of anger' turning violent.
In Audioboo update from a march which was due to head to Tahrir Square but which has ended up at the heavily-guarded Maspero HQ, Jack said the decision to abandon the original plan showed the protesters' desire to push for change rather than celebrate.
He said:
As we reached the crossroads where we had to decide whether to turn left towards Tahrir, which is where the other marches have been heading, or right towards Maspero, people started pointing towards Maspero and chanting 'sowra', which means revolution, and then pointing back towards Tahrir and saying 'mish hafla', which is 'not a party'- as in 'we don't want to go and celebrate in Tahrir...we need to push this revolution forward and that means targeting the army's centre of power'...
Today has now taken a very, very interesting turn. It remains to be seen whether the other marches which have come from all over the city and were heading to Tahrir will also change route and come to Maspero as well. Certainly, if that does happen, the likelihood of confrontation is going to escalate dramatically.
On the march from the northern neighbourhood of Shubra, scuffles had already broken out outside the state newspaper Ahram's headquarters (see Jack's tweets earlier).
As we were on our way, we passed Ahram's headquarters...and many people tried to attack the building. They tore down an Al-Ahram flag that was outside the headquarters and scuffles broke out on the march between those that were calling for 'peace'- and others who said: 'Forget [peace]- this is a revolution- this is the state media complex that is trying to destroy our movement for change.' And that's very much the sentiment now as we head towards Maspero.
Maspero, Jack reminds us, holds a particular place in Egypt's revolutionary consciousness as the place where 27 protesters, mostly Christians, were killed by the army last autumn. It remains, he said, "a real flashpoint for tension between revolutionaries and the military regime."
It's very much the centrepoint of [the military's power]. It's through that state television apparatus that people feel the revolution has been discredited and delegitamised through, they would say, the lies of that media complex. But certainly the army is in no mood to compromise. Maspero is a red line...There are coils of barbed wire and armed soldiers standing beyond it. All the shutters are down. And as we approach Maspero now, I can see others have already arrived here so we are several thousand people now gathering around this barbed wire and the soldiers on the other side looking nervous, some of them with their helmets down, guns in their hands.
Back in Cairo, Abdel Rahman Hussein has more from the march leading to Tahrir Square.
Protesters massed on the streets leading to the Qasr El Nil are at pains to point out that rather than celebrate a successful revolution, this is another step in seeing it through. One of the dominant chants today is "This is a revolution not a celebration."
Protesters are also chanting against the Muslim Brotherhood, by criticising their political arm the Freedom and Justice Party. It is felt that the Islamist group has sold out the revolution for political gain. "There are two you cannot trust," they chant, "the military and the Ikhwan."
The violence in Syria has increased significantly in the last three days, according to the Sudanese General, Mohammed Al-Dabi, who is charge of the Arab League's observer mission, AFP reports.
Earlier this week Dabi said the violence had gradually decreased since arrival of the monitors.
The activist group the Local Coordination Committees in Syria claimed 119 people had been killed in the last two days. Its figures includes 12 children.
It claims a further 33 people have been killed today.
The funerals for those killed continue to be a focus for protests.
This was the scene in at the funeral of Hamoud Assaf in Ghanto in Homs today.
More from Jack in Cairo:
Shubra march has now split - majority heading to #Maspero, chanting name of Mina Daniel and other martyrs
— Jack Shenker (@hackneylad) January 27, 2012
#Maspero protesters hold up dog and chant 'Tantawi'. A real dog. Now I've seen everything. twitter.com/hackneylad/sta…
— Jack Shenker (@hackneylad) January 27, 2012
Our favourite sign writer from Kafranbel in Idlib in north-west Syrian has been busy again. Today's message is for the Russians.
Each week for months similar signs have appeared from Kafranbel written in the same style.
Thousands of people are marching from the Mostafa Mahmoud towards Cairo's Tahrir square,
Abdel Rahman Hussein reports en route with the protesters.
In similar scenes to Wednesday, protesters are marching through the street chanting against military rule, insisting again that the revolution has been appropriated and usurped by the ruling generals
At Tahrir Street (not the square) the march joined with another one coming from Giza Square. Chants are being led by the irrepressible Kamal Khalil, a stalwart of the Egyptian left who has been leading chants at protests, large and small, for decades.
In a later update he wrote:
The marches are continuing apace, although it's impossible to tell from the ground how large the march is. The combined marches have filled Tahrir street that leads to Qasr El Nil bridge, that leads directly into Tahrir Square. As far as the eyes can see, there is a teeming mass of poeple.
The Guardian's Jack Shenker reports and photographs scuffles outside state media offices.
Scuffles break out as some protesters begin targeting al-Ahram building - others try and drag them away twitter.com/hackneylad/sta…
— Jack Shenker (@hackneylad) January 27, 2012
Protesters in Egypt have surrounded the Syrian embassy in Cairo, CNN's Ben Wedeman tweets:
"@yperni: #Syrian embassy twitpic.com/8c9ssh" near #tahrir, under siege. #Syria
— benwedeman (@bencnn) January 27, 2012
Shots were fired in the air to clear protesters one witness claimed:
Just to clarify shots were fired in the air to scare them off, noone was injured and they have left the #syrianembassy right now
— Dara Abdul Hadi (@Darahisham) January 27, 2012
A concerted Saudi campaign on Syria now appears to be under way.
Following news that the kingdom plans to recognise the Syrian National Council, the Saudi newspaper the Arab News has published a trenchant editorial calling for UN intervention in Syria.
The English language paper is independent, but Saudi newspapers are not known for veering too far from Saudi foreign policy:
The editorial describes the Arab League's monitoring mission as a smokescreen and says this about UN intervention:
It is clear that the sooner this growing tragedy can be referred to the United Nations and the international community can be persuaded to support firm action against the Assad regime, the more lives will be spared. At the moment this looks like a conflict that can only escalate, with potentially grievous consequences, not simply for all Syrians, but the wider region ...
Many among Syria's opposition groupings suspected that the monitors had come to defend and exonerate the Assad administration. The injudicious early comment by the mission's leader Sudanese General Mohammed Al-Dabi, to the effect that he could see no serious violence, lent credence to this view. Few, however, should now doubt the determination of the monitors to tell it as it is in their official report to the League. The GCC countries quit because they had already seen enough of the regime-inspired violence. There was no further point in staying.
Saudi Arabia is to follow Libya's lead by recognising the Syrian National Council as the "official representative" of the Syrian people, Lebanon's Daily Star reports.
It quotes SNC executive council member Ahmad Ramadan telling Kuwait's al-Rai newspaper:
Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told an SNC delegation he met in Cairo last week the kingdom will recognize the Council as the official representative of the Syrian people.
Libya's National Transitional Council recognised the SNC as the "legitimate authority" in Syria last October.
Splits in the Syrian opposition are being played out over the battle for control of the much-cited Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, al-Alakhbar reports in very thorough article on the dispute.
As this blog noted last week the battle for control surrounds Coventry-based Rami Abdulrahman and London-based doctor Mousab Azzawi.
Here's an extract from al-Alakhabr:
The campaign led by Azzawi to discredit Abdulrahman seems to come on the heels of a major fallout between the Syrian National Council (SNC) and the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria (NCB). A controversial Cairo agreement struck in December between Haytham al-Manna of the NCB and SNC head Burhan Ghalioun collapsed on the very question of foreign intervention and the militarization of the uprising. The letter attacking Abdulrahman surfaced a few weeks after.
The SNC has openly adopted foreign intervention under a UN mandate as its official policy, and has deepened cooperation with the Free Syrian Army. The NCB, however, has condemned moves to militarize the revolution, and rejects foreign intervention, insisting on a pacifist revolution.
Abdulrahman told Al-Akhbar that some members of the Syrian opposition are waging a war against him due to his own opposition to NATO intervention, and his continued publishing of deaths of regular Syrian troops.
"Yesterday, somebody phoned me saying we want to stop this war against you, we have two demands: you have to request for Nato to come to Syria, and you stop talking about the deaths of the regular Syrian army," he said in a phone interview last week.
On the agenda at the World Economic Forum today: Islamism and democracy.
The prime ministers of Tunisia and Morocco have been stressing their commitment to freedom of expression in Davos, saying that the act of entering into the political process can itself act as a moderating influence.
AP reports:
Morocco's new moderate Islamist Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane said the best way to deal with extremist youth "is to bring them out of the closet. It is not to keep them marginalized." He said bringing them into political life would moderate them."This is what happened to us. this is how we were, when we were young people we were very extremist in our views. We used to have these great hopes and dreams, but when we entered the political sphere we understood we had to be more realistic," he said.
An Islamist candidate for Egypt's presidential elections, Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, said he welcomed the participation of the ultraconservative "Salafist trend" in Egypt, "because its presence will lead to greater pragmatism on their part," the report added.
Time for a brief round-up of the day's developments so far.
Syria
• The United Nations security council is today expected to discuss a draft resolution backed by most Arab states that calls for the Assad regime to surrender its totalitarian hold on Syria. The closed door discussion was called ahead of a possible vote next week on the resolution. It marks a new phase in the regional stand against Syria.
• Russia, however, again made clear its opposition to the draft. The Security Council member said it remained "unacceptable" in its current form. Moscow is understood to want a clause ruling out military intervention.
• Dissident blogger Amar Abdulhammid has claimed the international community has a "clear responsibility to protect" civilians, after activists claimed more than 60 people were killed on Thursday. Five children from one family in Homs were reported to have been killed in yesterday's violence. Protesters have taken to the streets today to push for change.
Egypt
• Around 10,000 people have descended on Cairo's Tahrir Square to mark the anniversary of the 2011's Friday of anger, which saw some of the fiercest fighting of the revolution. The 'second Friday of anger', called by some 60 political parties and pro-democracy groups, is aimed at pushing the authorities into democratic reforms.
• Activists have reacted with fury to news that Twitter will be able to censor messages on a country-by-country basis. They circulated a post calling for a 24-hour boycott of the micro-blogging site.
Another Friday in Syria, and once more protesters have taken to the streets in towns and cities across the country.
Here is a map showing videos apparently taken in several of the locations so far: Zamalka and Malha in the Damascus suburbs; Nemer in Daraa, and Jisr-ash-Shugur in Idlib. The clips- posted by the LCC activist network- could not be verified independently.
The news that Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis has provoked concern in Egypt.
This Tweet, from Mostafa Hussein, seems to sum up the feelings of many:
This time last year @twitter was blocked by Mubarak. Now @twitter is doing it for the likes of him.
Many Twitter users in the country are sharing this message calling for a day-long boycott of the micro-blogging site:
#TwitterBlackout - I WILL NOT TWEET on Saturday Jan 28th for the whole day. #TwitterCensored #j28 -- lets roll! #RT #Share to support
Mahmoud Salem, who tweets under the name @Sandmonkey, wrote simply:
This is very bad news
While Michael Milad (@MikhaMilad) posted:
#against "This Tweet from @Username has been withheld in: Country. Learn more" #TwitterCensored
After the protests on Wednesday, there were unconfirmed reports that a woman had been sexually assaulted.
Here, according to Twitter users, is a video of the incident. (Warning: not for the faint-hearted and could not be independently verified.) It appears to show a woman with blonde hair in the middle of a throng of men. As the statement below indicates, it is not clear which, if any, of the men are trying to help her and which are participating in the alleged assault. The woman has not been identified.
Ahmed Sabry, an architect who tweets under the name @A_M_Sabry, posted the following explanations which have been translated by Ramy Yaacoub (@RamyYaacoub).
Concerning the issue of the girl/woman that was raped/violated by thugs, I was trying to protect her, and this is all rubbish. Sexual harassment took place, we gathered around her, and kept the people away from her
The problem is that no one knew who is defending and who is attacking [her], hence there was chaos, and everyone was pushing everyone to get her out
The UN is due to discuss that new draft resolution on Syria later today, AFP reports.
Al-Arabiya published a version of the draft, which it claimed was backed by European and Arab countries (see 8.30am).
Russia has branded the Western-Arab draft UN security council resolution on Syria "unacceptable", reports Itar-Tass quoted by Reuters.
Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has said the draft, in its current form, contains "no fundamental consideration of our position" and is missing "key aspects that are fundamental to us".
The draft is unacceptable for us in this form.
Gatilov's remarks are the latest sign that Russia, a veto-wielding Security Council member, will push hard for changes in the draft, writes Reuters.
Gatilov suggested Russia was unhappy that the draft included no clause ruling out military intervention, and that it made a reference to sanctions that have already been imposed on Syria by the Arab League.
Gatilov said Russia was concerned by a clause saying the Security Council would review Syria's implementation of the resolution after 15 days and "adopt further measures" if it has not complied.
"What measures? That is our question," he said.
Egypt's "second Friday of anger" looks to have begun.
AP reports that some 10,000 Egyptian protesters have already converged on Cairo's Tahrir Square this morning to mark the one-year anniversary of the original Friday of rage, which saw some of the fiercest fighting of the revolution.
Chants of "down with military council" and calls for retribution for the killing of protesters were heard in the square on Friday."We can't celebrate when there's no justice for those killed," a 30-year-old Amr Sayyed said. "The Muslim Brotherhood is talking about justice, but not how or when."
This video, which was apparently taken at 11am local time (so around a 90 minutes ago), shows the crowds starting to mass once more in the symbolic square. According to the poster, the voice heard in the background is the father of one of the revolution's 'martyrs'.
With friends like these ...
Jean-Marie Le Pen, the former leader of the French National Front, is backing the Assad government.
Syria's state media approvingly quotes him saying: "The Syrian Leadership is doing its best to avoid the country the dangers of going into any form of civil war."
Sana adds:
Since the outbreak of events in Syria, Le Pen had an objective view regarding what is taking place in the country. He repeatedly condemned the performance of the French media of thier fabricated propaganda and ignorance of the huge mass marches in Support of President Bashar al-Assad.
The captured Iranians filmed by the Free Syrian Army in Homs do appear to be the same individuals that Iran claims were electricians kidnapped last month.
In the video where the men "confess" to being Iranian soldiers they give the same name as those reported in the Iran's Mehr press agency to be the names of kidnapped engineers, EA WorldView points out.
There have been numerous reports of gunfire in the central city of Hama.
I hear heavy gunfire from Al-Hamidiyeh right now - it's 4:50am. #Hama #Syria #Mar15
— Sameer Al-Hamwi (@b6y5) January 27, 2012
Later the same activist reported:
Violent clashes between the #FSA and #Assad's troops taking place in Al-Hamidiyeh & Al-Qussour areas of #Hama right now. #Syria #Mar15
— Sameer Al-Hamwi (@b6y5) January 27, 2012
This video purports to show the al-Hamidiyeh while gunfire and explosions could be heard.
The Local Coordination Committee in Syria reported "continuous gunfire" in the area.
Dissident Syrian blogger Amar Abdulhammid claims the international community has a "clear responsibility to protect" civilians in Syria, after activists claimed more than 60 people were killed on Thursday.
He said 11 children were among the latest victims. They included five children from one family, whose bodies were filmed in extremely disturbing video footage [warning: distressing content].
The children were killed when the security forces raided their home in the Karm Al-Zeitun area of Homs, according to Abdulammid.
But an update, edited by Ausama Monajed, a leading member of the opposition Syrian National Council, suggested they were killed when the area came under heavy fire.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 26 civilians were killed in Homs on Thursday, including nine children, and dozens more people injured, Now Lebanon reports.
Welcome to Middle East Live.
Here's a round up of the latest developments:
Syria
Activists said the men had confessed to killing and torturing civilians, a claim that cannot be verified. Iran's IRNA news said gunmen had captured 11 Iranian pilgrims travelling by road from Turkey to Damascus.
Some of the men in the FSA video resemble men who Iran's Press TV said were electricians captured in Homs in December.
• A new draft UN resolution backed by European and Arab states expresses "grave concern" about Syria and urges the government of Bashar al-Assad to "fully cooperate" with the Arab League mission, al-Arabiya reports. The draft also stresses the "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity" of Syria and emphasizes the need to resolve the current crisis peacefully.
As a result, the observers seemed especially reliant on the government's security [during a brief tour of the Damascus suburbs]. They did not meet with any opposition activists, not even one with whom they had scheduled an appointment so that the activist could give the observers a list of people detained by security forces.
An observer, Jaafar Kibeida, one of the mission's leaders and a former Sudanese diplomat, said the activist would not have been able to visit them, surrounded as they were by the government's army. For weeks, Mr. Kibeida said, the observers had repeatedly sought out opposition figures as they made their visits.
"People are more furious," Mr. Kibeida said "The mood has changed."
A visit to Douma — where the observers seemed to be most needed — was out of the question. Over the last week, the army and the security services have tried to rout hundreds of opposition gunmen who were controlling parts of the town.
Writing for Bitter Lemons, Landis says Assad is doomed but only in the long run.
So long as the Syrian military leadership remains united, the opposition remains fragmented, and foreign powers remain on the sidelines, the Assad regime is likely to survive, but all three of these elements are changing, even if gradually, in the favor of the opposition. The predominant role of minorities in the governments of the region, which was universal at the end of the colonial period, is being brought to a violent conclusion.
Libya
• Concerns are mounting about the mistreatment and torture of prisoners held by Libyan militiamen who are operating beyond the control of the country's transitional government, as well as by officially recognised security bodies, writes Ian Black. Allegations of human rights abuses are especially embarrassing to Britain and other governments which took part in the Nato air campaign in Libya, which was mandated by the UN to protect civilians and backed by the Arab League, but strongly criticised by Russia and China as "regime change by stealth".
Last October, many of these same fighters battled their way into this desert town, one of the last pro-Gaddafi redoubts to hold out against the rebels.
Now they are back again after fighting this week resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and forced the closure of a small government garrison. Several dozen former Gaddafi administration officials arrested for war crimes in recent weeks were sprung from jail during the uprising ...
Civilians leaving Bani Walid insist they are not pro-Gaddafi and accuse the former rebels of theft and vandalism when the town fell in the autumn. Bani Walid's elders are more circumspect, saying they are in no position to confront the pro-Gaddafi elements who have made the town their home.
Egypt
• Almost 60 political groups have announced plans for a "Second Friday of Rage" in Cairo's Tahrir Square in another protest against the ruling generals, Ahram reports. The main demands, the groups say, are the end to the military rule and the immediate handover of power to a civilian government.
People are fed up with their lies and hypocrisy , they are demanding a real media that represent them instead of the regime or whoever rules.
The escalation poses a sensitive diplomatic challenge for the Obama administration. The US government is coming under mounting pressure from Congress to suspend the $2bn in aid it gives Cairo every year, largely in the form of military assistance.
While needing to be seen to protest against the Egyptian military junta's resistance to democratic change and ongoing human rights violations, the administration is also keen not to destabilise its relationship with one of its key allies in the region.