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| Syria crisis: new opposition leader calls for mass defections - live updates | Syria crisis: new opposition leader calls for mass defections - live updates |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 11.17am: Video, backed by satellite photographs, has emerged that appear to show a Syrian air base being attacked after a battalion, armed with surface-to-air-missiles, defected to the opposition. | |
| Human Rights Watch has obtained images from DigitalGlobe that show the base near Rastan in Homs province, burning after the reported attack. | |
| It appears to confirm video footage from activists showing smoke rising from the base. | |
| The soldiers, who defected from the base, joined rebels in nearby Rastan and Talbiseh, according to activists. Rastan was bombarded today according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. | |
| After the defection, video emerged purporting to show surface-to-air-missiles in the hands of the rebels. | |
| Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, said this footage appeared to show SA-2 surface-to-air missiles. He said that in the current context of the fighting in Syria this type of missile does not present the same danger of proliferation as the smaller, shoulder-launched versions, like the SA-7 that was common in Libya. But he added: "It is of course possible that shoulder-launched versions were also present at the base." | |
| Another clip from activists purports to show munitions being carried away from the base. | |
| Bouckaert, who campaigned against the proliferation of weapons in Libya after the fall of Gaddafi, said the clip appeared to show tank shells. | |
| He added: | |
| As these larger bases begin to defect, there is a real danger with the proliferation of sophisticated weapons in Syria. Like Libya, Syria has vast arsenals of dangerous weapons, including sophisticated surface-to-air missiles and anti-tank weapons, as well as large stockpiles of more ordinary weapons such as rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs). If these weapons end up circulating in the wrong hands, they could further destabilize an already unstable region. This is what we saw happening in Libya last year, and it should be a real concern for the international community. | |
| 9.49am: Journalists, including the BBC's Paul Danahar and Sky's Tim Marshall, report shelling and gunfire in Homs. | |
| Just waved through first army checkpoint into #Homs without being stopped. | Just waved through first army checkpoint into #Homs without being stopped. |
| — Paul Danahar (@pdanahar) June 11, 2012 | — Paul Danahar (@pdanahar) June 11, 2012 |
| Just heard three loud thumps & burst of machine gunfire in #Homs | Just heard three loud thumps & burst of machine gunfire in #Homs |
| — Paul Danahar (@pdanahar) June 11, 2012 | — Paul Danahar (@pdanahar) June 11, 2012 |
| Im Homs we hear an explosion approx once every 2 mins. Usually from Khaldia district about a mile away. Occasional gunshots, some closet. | Im Homs we hear an explosion approx once every 2 mins. Usually from Khaldia district about a mile away. Occasional gunshots, some closet. |
| — Tim Marshall (@Skytwitius) June 11, 2012 | — Tim Marshall (@Skytwitius) June 11, 2012 |
| Danahar gave a graphic account of the aftermath of the massacre in al-Qubair after reaching the town on Friday. | Danahar gave a graphic account of the aftermath of the massacre in al-Qubair after reaching the town on Friday. |
| 8.48am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. | 8.48am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. |
| The opposition Syrian National Council claims the regime is on its last legs; activists report an increase in defections, and the Free Syrian Army is said to be gaining ground. Is this all wishful thinking on the part of activists or has a corner been turned in the Syrian crisis? | The opposition Syrian National Council claims the regime is on its last legs; activists report an increase in defections, and the Free Syrian Army is said to be gaining ground. Is this all wishful thinking on the part of activists or has a corner been turned in the Syrian crisis? |
| Here's a roundup of the latest developments: | Here's a roundup of the latest developments: |
| Syria | Syria |
| • The new opposition leader Abdelbasset Sida has urged officials to defect from a regime he claims is on its last legs. "We are entering a sensitive phase. The regime is on its last legs," he told AFP after being elected leader of the Syrian National Council. "We call upon all officials in the regime and in the institutions to defect from the regime," he told reporters. | • The new opposition leader Abdelbasset Sida has urged officials to defect from a regime he claims is on its last legs. "We are entering a sensitive phase. The regime is on its last legs," he told AFP after being elected leader of the Syrian National Council. "We call upon all officials in the regime and in the institutions to defect from the regime," he told reporters. |
| • Sida, a Kurdish activist, replaced Burhan Ghalioun who resigned last month after a frontline activist group threatened to leave the council. Critics told the New York Times that he was chosen as a consensus candidate because he represents no one, either inside Syria or out. | |
| Both the Muslim Brotherhood and liberals in the council concluded that he did not pose a threat or provide an advantage to any bloc within the council, but for the same reasons he will have little real authority, and the bickering will continue. | Both the Muslim Brotherhood and liberals in the council concluded that he did not pose a threat or provide an advantage to any bloc within the council, but for the same reasons he will have little real authority, and the bickering will continue. |
| • The rate of defections within the Syrian army is at its highest level, according to activists. Ausama Monajed, a senior member of the Syrian National Council, claims hundreds of soldiers have switched to the opposition in Idlib and Homs, and that a strategic air defence battalion, armed with anti-air and anti-tanks missiles, has announced it is joining the rebels. | |
| • The unravelling of the Assad regime is speeding up, according to Syria watcher Joshua Landis who until now has predicted the government will last longer than most other pundits expected. In his latest post he reckons that recent massacres in Houla and al-Qubair suggest the army is being taken over by shabiha militiamen and that the Sunni middle class, notably in Damascus is beginning to turn against the regime. | |
| Syrians have abandoned the regime in spirit, even if they have yet to defect in body ... | Syrians have abandoned the regime in spirit, even if they have yet to defect in body ... |
| Assad's army is being taken over by shabiha and security forces manned by Alawites. The massacres leave no doubt about that. The shabiha seem able to call in artillery bombardments before sweeping in. They call themselves "Amn al-Assad," Assad's security ... | Assad's army is being taken over by shabiha and security forces manned by Alawites. The massacres leave no doubt about that. The shabiha seem able to call in artillery bombardments before sweeping in. They call themselves "Amn al-Assad," Assad's security ... |
| The revolution is popping up everywhere now. The heart of Damascus is now involved. When the merchants of Hamadiya – the main souq – go on strike, you know you have lost the conscience and heart of Damascus. The Sunni bourgeoisie has now turned on the regime. | The revolution is popping up everywhere now. The heart of Damascus is now involved. When the merchants of Hamadiya – the main souq – go on strike, you know you have lost the conscience and heart of Damascus. The Sunni bourgeoisie has now turned on the regime. |
| • Government forces have renewed their efforts to impose control in Homs province and the Damascus suburbs after a series of attacks by the rebel Free Syrian Army. At least 35 people were killed when the army used artillery, mortars and rockets to hit opposition strongholds in the city of Homs and the towns of Qusair, Talbiseh and Rastan, activists said. In Damascus, government forces bombarded the northern district of Qaboun and later entered it in armoured vehicles, storming houses, after attacks on Friday on buses carrying troops and pro-Assad militia, opposition sources said. | |
| • On Saturday night government tanks opened fire in central Damascus for the first time in the 15-month uprising, according to NBC. | • On Saturday night government tanks opened fire in central Damascus for the first time in the 15-month uprising, according to NBC. |
| The nearly 12 hours of fighting in Damascus suggested a new boldness among armed rebels, who previously kept a low profile in the capital. It also showed a willingness by the regime to unleash in the capital the sort of elevated force against restive neighbourhoods it has used to crush opponents elsewhere. | The nearly 12 hours of fighting in Damascus suggested a new boldness among armed rebels, who previously kept a low profile in the capital. It also showed a willingness by the regime to unleash in the capital the sort of elevated force against restive neighbourhoods it has used to crush opponents elsewhere. |
| "Yesterday was a turning point in the conflict," said Maath al-Shami, an opposition activist in the capital. "There were clashes in Damascus that lasted hours. The battle is in Damascus now." | "Yesterday was a turning point in the conflict," said Maath al-Shami, an opposition activist in the capital. "There were clashes in Damascus that lasted hours. The battle is in Damascus now." |
| • An increasingly effective Syrian rebel force has been gaining ground in recent weeks, Liz Sly in the Washington Post reports. | • An increasingly effective Syrian rebel force has been gaining ground in recent weeks, Liz Sly in the Washington Post reports. |
| The rebels say they are acquiring access to ammunition and funding that had been in short supply a few months ago, streamlining their structures to improve coordination and steadily eroding the government's capacity to control large swaths of the country. | The rebels say they are acquiring access to ammunition and funding that had been in short supply a few months ago, streamlining their structures to improve coordination and steadily eroding the government's capacity to control large swaths of the country. |
| Libya | Libya |
| • Representatives of the international criminal court have flown to Tripoli to try to secure the release of a detained delegation visiting Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. The four-member delegation was being held in the western mountain town of Zintan after one of its lawyers, Australian Melinda Taylor, was found carrying documents regarded as suspicious. | • Representatives of the international criminal court have flown to Tripoli to try to secure the release of a detained delegation visiting Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. The four-member delegation was being held in the western mountain town of Zintan after one of its lawyers, Australian Melinda Taylor, was found carrying documents regarded as suspicious. |
| • Libya's first elections since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi have been put back 18 days, the electoral commission has confirmed. Nuri al-Abbar, head of the electoral commission, said crucial preparations for the election – including voter registration and vetting candidates to make sure they had no links to Muammar Gaddafi – had missed a deadline, making it impossible to hold the vote on the original date of 19 June. | |
| Egypt | Egypt |
| • Hosni Mubarak is slipping in and out of consciousness eight days after he was transferred to a prison hospital to serve his life sentence, a security official told AP. Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, and her two daughters-in-law were granted special permission to visit him early on Sunday to quash rumours of his death, the official said at Cairo's Torah prison. Since then Mubarak has had an irregular heartbeat and required assistance in breathing. | • Hosni Mubarak is slipping in and out of consciousness eight days after he was transferred to a prison hospital to serve his life sentence, a security official told AP. Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, and her two daughters-in-law were granted special permission to visit him early on Sunday to quash rumours of his death, the official said at Cairo's Torah prison. Since then Mubarak has had an irregular heartbeat and required assistance in breathing. |