Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage:
65 Dead Amidst Manoeuvres for Talks
A video illustrating that, despite reports of juveniles tried in military courts (see 0847 GMT), all Egyptian children love the ruling armed forces
1302 GMT: One of the first things to look for would be the actions of the Assad military forces to see if there is a de-escalation or withdrawal. While this news likely occurred before the formal announcement of a peace plan, Guardian posts a video of an Assad helicopter firing rockets at the ground in A'zaz, north of Aleppo. Also, they are reporting that Syrian troops have crossed into Lebanon:
Syrian troops have advanced into north Lebanon, destroying farm buildings and clashing with Syrian rebels who had taken refuge there, residents told Reuters.Abu Ahmed, 63, from the rural mountain area of al-Qaa, said:"More than 35 Syrian soldiers came across the border and started to destroy houses."Another resident said that the soldiers, some travelling in armoured personnel vehicles, fired rocket-propelled grenades and exchanged heavy machinegun fire with rebels.
Lebanese officials have said that the fighting was in Syria, and that only bullets have crossed the border.
1248 GMT: And now we have our first glimpse at problem two - will the opposition take Assad seriously. The Associated Press has spoken to a member of the Syrian National Council who suggests that theformal opposition will accept the plan:
A Paris-based member of the opposition Syrian National Council said it welcomes the Syrian government's decision."We hope that we can move toward a peace process," Bassma Kodmani said by telephone.
But the AP has also spoken to Rami al Jarrah, a prominent opposition figure:
Rami Jarah, who was attending an opposition meeting Tuesday in Turkey, said President Bashar Assad is trying to stall for time."The Syrian government is going to depend on propaganda as it has over the past few months - propaganda of armed terrorists," he said. The government denies that there is a popular uprising in the country, saying the revolt is being driven by terrorists.
And upon news that Assad was in Baba Amr, we've already received Tweets like this one:
So what happens if the protests continue? What happens if the armed opposition does not stop all attacks nationwide?
1236 GMT: Syrian President has timed the announcement of a peace plan with a visit to the most embattled area of Homs, Baba Amr, according to Syrian State TV. Here is the first video we've seen, Tweeted by an activist:
1225 GMT: The Guardian details 6 steps that Bashar al Assad and Kofi Annan have agreed to in the UN peace plan:
1) commit to work with the envoy [Annan] in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people;2) commit to stop the fighting3) ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting4) intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons5) ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them6) respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.
Basically, if all of these reforms were promptly implemented, and if elections were freely held as promised, this could possibly end this crisis.
There is just one problem - we've heard this all before. Assad agreed to an Arab League plan to withdraw troops from the cities of Syria, but on the same day his forces launched an intensified offensive and he claimed he was not battling the opposition but fighting terrorists. Before this, Assad lifted the emergency laws that had been in place for decades, but immediately fired on protesters who remained in the streets.
There comes problem number 2. Will the opposition (all of the opposition) accept this plan. So far there are indications that the Syrian National Council has agreed on principle to cooperate:
James Miller takes over the live coverage. Thanks to Scott Lucas for getting us through the morning.
1155 GMT: The funeral of the martyr Rabeha Al Joujou in Zabadani today --- eight people were reportedly slain in the town on Monday:
A morning demonstration in Jarjanaz in Idlib Province:
1125 GMT: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has said that the situation in Bahrain is not on the agenda of this week's Arab League summit in Baghdad because the Bahraini regime did not put it forward.
Zebari said, "With Syria, the situation is different, because Syria is a more pressing issue. ....It has an international dimension, it has a regional (dimension), it has many many other differences."
1115 GMT: A spokesman says the Assad regime "has written to the joint special envoy Kofi Annan, accepting his six-point plan, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council".
Ahmad Fawzi continued, "Mr Annan views this as an important initial step that could bring an end to the violence and the bloodshed, provide aid to the suffering, and create an environment conducive to a political dialogue that would fulfil the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."
Annan, in China to seek Beijing's support for the plan, has written to President Assad asking Damascus to "put its commitments into immediate effect".
Meanwhile, Syrian State news agency SANA is highlighting Assad's visit to the Baba Amr neighbourhood in Homs, besieged and re-claimed by regime forces last month.
0935 GMT: Twenty-eight medics, facing "misdimeanour" charges, were in a Bahraini court for five minutes today, before the case was postponed until 22 April.
The doctors and nurses were among 48 staff detained soon after the February 2011 protests began. The other 20 medics were given sentences of 5 to 15 years last autumn; those are still being reviewed after transfer from the military tribunal to a civilian court.
0930 GMT: At least eight people, including four civilians, were killed early today across Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
One woman was killed by a stray bullet in the Damascus suburb of Douma and two other women died in Maarat an-Naaman, in Idlib Province in the northwest. One civilian was killed by sniper fire in Dabalan, a neighborhood in Homs.
Four soldiers also died in the clashes with insurgents in Maarat an-Naaman, the Observatory said.
The British-based group claimed more than 70% of the population of Saraqeb in Idleb Province has fled since a regime assault began Saturday. It said at least 18 civilians have been killed and more than 63 homes torched in the town.
0847 GMT: Human Rights Watch has claimed that Egyptian military courts have investigated or tried at least 43 children over the past year.
The organisation added that children prosecuted in military courts have not had access to lawyers, and often to their families, until after military authorities have investigated and sentenced them.Since it took power in February 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has referred ,more than 12,000 civilians for prosecution by military courts.
Human Rights Watch called on SCAF to end all investigations and trials of children before military courts, releasing or transferring those already convicted to the juvenile justice system.
0647 GMT: A Bahraini activist has posted an updated list of 82 people who have died since the start of the protests in February 2011, including 35 who have allegedly perished from the effects of tear gas.
0627 GMT: A member of the United Nations human rights inquiry into Syria quit the three-person commission on Monday. Yakin Erturk said, "I decided not to continue, mainly because of my concern over not having access to Syria. This is a serious hindrance of the commission of inquiry."
Erturk is a former UN special human rights rapporteur on violence against women and is still a member of the Council of Europe's committee for the prevention of torture.
Meanwhile, Radhika Coomaraswamy, the United Nations special representative for children in armed conflict, has told reporters,"We are receiving allegations of children with the Free Syrian Army."
Coomaraswamy gave no details, saying "we haven't been able to verify or check" the allegations that the insurgency breached conventions banning the use of child soldiers aged under 16.
0625 GMT: Clashes between rival militias in southern Libya have killed 20 people and injured at least 40, according to a doctor at a regional hospital.
The clashes between former rebel fighters from Sabha, Libya's fourth largest city, and gunmen from the Tibu tribe started on Sunday after a Sabha man was killed in a dispute over a car.
Sabha fighter Oweidat al-Hifnawi said the fighting centered around the airport road and that at one point Tibu fighters controlled the entrance of the airport.
"The airport is now under our control but it is not functioning at the moment," Hifnawi said.
0620 GMT: On the diplomatic front, there were a series of flutters ahead of this weekend's "Friends of Syria" meeting of international delegations in Turkey. The Turks, who closed their Embassy in Damascus, and the Qataris tried to forge an opposition bloc with a meeting of Syrian factions, while the US announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would hold talks in Saudi Arabia before going to the Friends of Syria assembly.
The Turks, Arab States such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and the US are all manoeuvring for an agreed line before the weekend, but will that compromise lead to significant intervention? That is what we cannot establish at this point.
Meanwhile, activists said at least 65 people died on Monday across Syria, including 34 in Homs. Syria's third city is enduring sustained shelling by the regime.
