• First Arab League observers due to arrive in Syria
• White House says 'only fear' is propping up Assad regime
• Turkey warns of 'bloodbath' in Syria
• Read a summary
The US has ordered its citizens to leave Syria while they still can, citing expected flight restrictions and reduced embassy staff.
Its updated travel advise says:
The US Department of State urges U.S. citizens currently in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available. The number of airlines serving Syria has decreased significantly since the summer months, and many of the remaining airlines have reduced their number of flights. US citizens who must remain in Syria should limit nonessential travel within the country. For the time being, the Embassy continues to provide passport services, as well as other emergency services to US citizens. However, staff levels at the Embassy are being further reduced. Visa services for immediate relatives of US citizens may also be affected due to staffing levels. Our ability to assist US citizens in an emergency is extremely limited and may be further constrained by the fluid security situation.
The advice also said violence has escalated in last few days in cities around Syria, including the capital, Damascus.
Demonstrations, and violent government reactions to them, can occur with little or no warning anytime and anywhere. Recent demonstrations have occurred on university campuses, main streets, public squares, mosques, and other places of public gathering; anyone caught in the vicinity of demonstrations may be detained.
Syrian efforts to attribute the current civil unrest to external influences have led to an increase in anti-foreigner sentiment. Detained US citizens may find themselves subject to allegations of incitement or espionage. Contrary to the terms of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, of which Syria is a signatory, Syrian authorities generally do not notify the US Embassy of the arrest of a US citizen until days or weeks after the arrest. Moreover, in the past, security officials have not responded to US Embassy requests for consular access, especially in cases of persons detained for "security" reasons. There have been numerous credible reports of torture in Syrian prisons.
A colonel in the Syrian army has announced his defection to the Free Syrian Army citing this week's reported massacre in Idlib's Jabal al-Zawiyeh mountains.
In his defection video Colonel Adnan Muhammed Halaq described himself as a radar specialist in the airforce, according to a translation by our colleague Mona Mahmood.
He said: "I declare, with a group of officers and soldiers, my defection from Assad's army, in response to the massacres committed by the army in al-Zawiyeh, Homs and Hama."
He said he was joining the Free Syrian army to help protect unarmed civilians.
Dabi refused to discuss his Arab League mission to Syria ahead of the visit, according to AFP. But he did hand out a curriculum vitae that outlined his "hard-core" military background.
• Sudanese army officer for 30 years, from 1969-1999• Head of military intelligence from June 30, 1989 − the day Omar al-Bashir took power in a coup − until August 1995
• Head of the foreign spy agency, 1995-1996
• Chief of military operations against the insurgency in what is now South Sudan, 1996-1999
The international criminal court has pointed out that it has not issued an arrest warrant for the Sudanese general nominated to head the Arab League's mission to Syria, contrary to a claim by the opposition.
The Syrian National Council criticised the choice of general Muhammad Ahmad al-Dabi as head of the mission. It claimed he was "wanted by the international criminal court for suspicions of committing crimes against humanity in Darfur. Furthermore, considering how close the Assad and [Omar] al-Bashir regimes are to each other, Syrians have no hope for a fair performance by the mission."
A spokeswoman for the ICC denied this. She said "there is no ICC arrest warrant for him".
The ICC has named six people, including the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, it wants to question for alleged crimes in Darfur. Dabi's name is not one of them.
But Dabi did hold positions related to the Darfur, where he was criticised for obfuscating international efforts to stop atrocities.
Here's a summary of the main developments so far
Syria
• An advance team of Arab League observers is on its way to Syria. The man nominated to head the mission to Damascus is Sudanese Lt. Gen. Mohammad al-Dabi. Middle East analyst Rubin said al-Dabi "served as the Sudanese government's top representative for Darfur in which capacity he obfuscated international efforts to alleviate the mass murder the Sudanese government sought to perpetrate in that western province".
• The Syrian army has launched another assault on the Baba Amro district of Homs, according to numerous reports by activists backed by video footage. The activist group, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, said six people were killed. It named four of those killed after what it described as "violent shelling using mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy machine guns".
Egypt
• The National Association for Change (NAC) has called Egyptians to demonstrate in Tahrir Square and across the country tomorrow. The protest is against the "crime committed near the cabinet by the military", referring to the violence that began when security forces tried to evict people participating in a sit-in near the cabinet building a week ago. The NAC's statement called on all Egyptians to march peacefully to "regain Egypt's honour".
• Egypt's military-appointed prime minister has called for a national dialogue to resolve the political crisis engulfing the country. Kamal al-Ganzouri, whose legitimacy is rejected by protesters, also pleaded for a two-month period of calm to restore security and said the Supreme Council of Armed Forces is eager to relinquish power. He has been lampooned in a video, which shows excerpts of a speech he made, including a claim that soldiers did not fire on protesters, juxtaposed with footage from the streets aimed at disproving his claims.
Yemen
• Outgoing president Ali Abdullah Saleh is expected to leave Yemen for more medical treatment. He spent more than three months in Saudi Arabia earlier this year after suffering severe injuries in an attack on his presidential compound in Sana'a in June.
• Around 3,000 anti-government protesters are on a 250km march from the central Yemeni city of Taiz to the capital Sana'a to call for the prosecution of Saleh. Under a transfer of power deal brokered by the Gulf Co-operation Council the president is due to stand down in February in return for immunity from prosecution.
The Egyptian ministry of interior has apologised for publishing photoshopped images from Tuesday's women's march, protesting at brutal treatment of female protesters by security forces, Ahram Online reports.
The image published on the ministry's Facebook page showed female protesters holding up posters of blue and pink bras. But in the orginal pictures the same women were holding posters with the slogan "down with military rule".
The women were protesting about violence against female protesters during the latest round of clashes. One particular incident, caught on camera, caused worldwide revulsion as a woman wearing an abaya was beaten and stripped down to her blue bra and jeans by soldiers as she was dragged through the street.
Egyptian activists have ridiculed claims by prime minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, by juxtaposing a speech he gave with footage from the street.
At one point Ganzouri says the violence began "when one of the young people entered [the cabinet building] and was treated in a perhaps incorrect manner". The video then switches to footage of the man in question, unconscious, with a bandage around his head and his face bloody, bruised and swollen.
The video is an illustration of why protesters are unlikely to heed Ganzouri's call for a national dialogue (see 11.00am).
Around 3,000 anti-government protesters are on a 250km march from the central Yemeni city of Taiz to the capital Sana'a to call for the prosecution of president Saleh.
They are expected to reach Sana'a on Friday according to the Yemen Times.
The march came as media reports leaked the news that parliament, which is still sitting despite a massive boycott by opposition members and defectors, is working to draft Saleh's immunity law with a vote in the coming days.
Under a deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council Saleh is due to stand down in February in return for immunity from prosecution.
Activists have posted this compilation of footage of the march.
CNN reporter Mohammed Jamjoom visited a woman who was caught on camera on Saturday as members of the Egyptian security forces officers beat her incessantly with batons while she lay on the ground (warning: upsetting content):
The woman suffered a fractured skull and can be seen screaming in pain in her hospital bed.
Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is due to stand down in February as part of a deal brokered by Gulf Cooperation Council, is expected to leave Yemen for more medical treatment, according to a UN envoy.
The BBC quoted UN special envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar as saying:
My understanding is that President Saleh still requires serious medical treatment and medical treatment that he will require outside of Yemen. Efforts are being made for arrangements to be concluded for him to get this treatment.
The opposition Syrian National Council has been pushed into taking a tougher line on international intervention by the formation of the Lequaa alliance, a report by Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr suggests.
The Lequaa group was announced last week by Mohammed Bassan Imadi, a former Syrian diplomat who fled to Turkey earlier this month. He said it would represents the views of street protesters.
Al-Jazeera says Lequaa is working with the SNC, but the nature of the relationship between the two groups is unclear. A Lequaa spokesman said dissidents in the SNC were too remote from protesters in Syria.
Kamal al-Ganzouri said: "I say to everyone that we must forget the past and move forward in a dialogue with all shades so that Egypt can live in peace."
At Thursday's press conference, Ganzouri also pleaded for a two-month period of calm to restore security.
He insisted that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) is eager to relinquish power but did not elaborate.
Protesters want the military rulers to step down immediately. They do not recognise Ganzouri - or his cabinet - because he was appointed by the military rulers. Instead they want a government of national unity with Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa among those mooted to lead it. The Scaf chief, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, met ElBaradei and Moussa in November but instead appointed Ganzouri as head of what it called a "national salvation" government".
The latest round of violence began when the security forces moved in to attack a sit-in near the Cabinet building.
The Syrian army has launched another assault on the Baba Amro district of Homs, according to numerous reports by activists backed by video footage.
This video purports to show the area being shelled this morning. Graphic video footage claims to show some of the victims of the assault. One shows attempts to revive a badly injured civilian on a blood-stained floor [warning: disturbing images].
The activist group, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, said six people were killed. It named four of those killed after what it described as "violent shelling using mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy machine guns".
Egyptian activists have called for another demonstration on Friday, after five days of violence left 15 people dead.
The New York Times reports a lull in street fighting in the capital Cairo. That peace could be tested tomorrow, Jadaliyya reports:
The National Association for Change (NAC) has called on all Egyptians to demonstrate in Tahrir Square and in different parts of the country protesting the "crime committed near the Cabinet by the military", referring to violence against women specifically in the recent attack on Tahrir Square.
The NAC's statement called on all Egyptians to march peacefully to "regain Egypt's honour". The statement emphasised the important role women played in the January 25 Revolution, adding that in return women's rights have been ignored since the revolution and undermined by the military council and Islamist parties.
The man chosen to head the Arab League's mission to Damascus is former Sudanese general. This doesn't bode well, says Middle East analyst Michael Rubin in Commentary Magazine.
The Arab League just nominated Sudanese Lt. Gen. Mohammad al-Dabi to head its mission in Damascus. Previously, Al-Dabi served as the Sudanese government's top representative for Darfur in which capacity he obfuscated international efforts to alleviate the mass murder the Sudanese government sought to perpetrate in that western province. With Al-Dabi in Damascus, what could possibly go wrong?
Welcome to Middle East Live. The Arab League is due to visit Syria today amid mounting international pressure on president Bashar al-Assad to stop the escalating violence.
Here's a round up of the main developments:
Syria
• The Syrian army is continuing to hunt down deserters near the northern city of Idlib after troops on Tuesday killed close to 150 men who had fled their base. The toll marked the deadliest day of the nine-month uprising and has rekindled fears of an imminent civil war. It came as an advance party of Arab League observers is due to arrive Damascus in a bid to implement an agreement signed by Syrian officials to stand down its troops and enter into talks.
•The Obama administration says it is "only a matter of time before this regime comes to an end". In its strongest comment yet on Syria, White House spokesman Jay Carney said:
Every metric shows the situation is moving against Assad: Defections of the military are on the rise. Diplomats have begun leaving their posts and coming out in support of the Syrian opposition. The opposition is more unified and more inclusive. The regime has been cut off by the Arab League, by its traditional allies and neighbours like Turkey, and the regime is under increasing financial duress due to international sanctions and weak domestic economic policies. It is only a matter of time before this regime comes to an end. Only fear is holding it together, and governing that is based on fear is always doomed to fail.
• Turkey's foreign ministry has accused president Bashar al-Assad of turning his country into a "bloodbath". The ministry said no administration "can come out a winner from a struggle against its own people".
• The Arab League's advance party involves 30 observers, accompanied by members of the media, who will prepare for the arrival of a fuller delegation, the BBC reports. Another group of observers is due in Syria on Sunday, and the mission is expected to be 150-strong when complete, it says. They will oversee Syria's compliance with the Arab League initiative, which calls for attacks to stop, troops to withdraw from the streets and detained protesters to be freed. Few believe the Assad regime is serious about implementing the Arab League plan, according to correspondent Jim Muir.
• Despite the continuing crackdown activists continue to protests against and mock the regime.
This clip shows a protests in Homs on Wednesday where activists dressed up as leading members of the regime.
• The opposition Syrian National Council has written to all 15 members of the UN security council and the Arab League to call for the establishment of safe havens and humanitarian corridors in Syria.
In a statement it said:
The SNC urgently requested that these parties support the Syrian people's and the Syrian Revolution's demands for international protection, the establishment of safe zones for civilians, and the establishment of humanitarian corridors for delivery of relief, medical, and other humanitarian needs. The SNC also demanded a prompt intervention to stop the massacres, which have reached the level of genocide and which coincide with the signing of the Arab League Protocol to send observers into Syria.
The SNC stressed in the letters that the regime is using children as human shields so that tanks and armored vehicles can storm residential areas.
Egypt
• The ultraconservative Salafist Nour party, which came second to the Muslim Brotherhood in the first rounds of the Egyptian elections, says is commitment to the peace agreement with Israel. In an interview with Israeli radio spokesman Yousseri Hamad's said "We are not opposed to the agreement, and we are saying that Egypt is committed to the agreements that previous Egyptian government have signed".
• A warning by of ruling generals of foreign plot to destroy the state, has been dismissed as Mubarak-era scare tactic, al-Masry al-Youm reports. "Talking of secret plots reminds us of the policies of the former regime," said Emad Gad, expert at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.