BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels took full control of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp on Monday after fighting raged for days in the district on the southern edge of President Bashar al-Assad’s Damascus powerbase, rebel and Palestinian sources said. 
 
 The battle had pitted rebels, backed by some Palestinians, against Palestinian fighters of the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Many PFLP-GC fighters defected to the rebel side and their leader Ahmed Jibril left the camp two days ago, rebel sources said. 
 
 “All of the camp is under the control of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army,” said a Palestinian activist in Yarmouk. He said clashes had stopped and the remaining PFLP fighters retreated to join Assad’s forces massed on the northern edge of the camp. 
 
 The battle in Yarmouk is one of a series of conflicts on the southern fringes of Assad’s capital, as rebels try to choke the power of the 47-year-old leader after a 21-month-old uprising in which 40,000 people have been killed. 
 
 Government forces have used jets and artillery to try to dislodge the fighters but the violence has crept into the heart of the city and activists say rebels overran three army stations in a new offensive in the central province of Hama on Monday. 
 
 On the border with Lebanon, hundreds of Palestinian families fled across the frontier following the weekend violence in Yarmouk, a Reuters witness said. 
 
 Syria hosts half a million Palestinian refugees, most living in Yarmouk, descendants of those admitted after the creation of Israel in 1948, and has always cast itself as a champion of the Palestinian struggle, sponsoring several guerrilla factions. 
 
 Both Assad’s government and the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels have enlisted and armed divided Palestinian factions as the uprising has developed into a civil war. 
 
 “NEITHER SIDE CAN WIN” 
 
 Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said in a newspaper interview published on Monday that neither Assad’s forces nor rebels seeking to overthrow him can win the war. 
 
 Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim in a power structure dominated by Assad’s Alawite minority, has rarely been seen since the revolt erupted in March 2011 and is not part of the president’s inner circle directing the fight against Sunni rebels. But he is the most prominent figure to say in public that Assad will not win. 
 
 Sharaa said the situation in Syria was deteriorating and a “historic settlement” was needed to end the conflict, involving regional powers and the U.N. Security Council and the formation of a national unity government “with broad powers”. 
 
 A torn poster of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is seen at the entrance of a factory in Ouwayjah village in Aleppo December 17, 2012. REUTERS/Zain Karam 
 
 “With every passing day the political and military solutions are becoming more distant. We should be in a position defending the existence of Syria. We are not in a battle for an individual or a regime,” Sharaa was quoted as telling Al-Akhbar newspaper. 
 
 “The opposition cannot decisively settle the battle and what the security forces and army units are doing will not achieve a decisive settlement,” he said, adding that insurgents fighting to topple Syria’s leadership could plunge it into “anarchy and an unending spiral of violence”. 
 
 Sources close to the Syrian government say Sharaa had pushed for dialogue with the opposition and objected to the military response to an uprising that began peacefully. 
 
 In a veiled criticism of the crackdown, he said there was a difference between the state’s duty to provide security to its citizens, and “pursuing a security solution to the crisis”. 
 
 He said even Assad could not be certain where events in Syria were leading, but that anyone who met him would hear that “this is a long struggle...and he does not hide his desire to settle matters militarily to reach a final solution.” 
 
 In Hama province, rebels and the army clashed in a new campaign launched on Sunday by rebels to block off the country’s north, activists said. 
 
 The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked violence monitor, said fighting raged through the provincial towns of Karnaz, Kafar Weeta, Halfayeh and Mahardeh. 
 
 Slideshow (23 Images) 
 
 It said there were no clashes reported in Hama city, which lies on the main north-south highway connecting the capital with Aleppo, Syria’s second city. 
 
 Qassem Saadeddine, a member of the newly established rebel military command, said on Sunday fighters had been ordered to surround and attack army positions across the province. He said Assad’s forces were given 48 hours to surrender or be killed. 
 
 In 1982 Hafez al-Assad, father of the current ruler, crushed an uprising in Hama city, killing up to 30,000 civilians. 
 
 Qatiba al-Naasan, a rebel from Hama, said the offensive would bring retaliatory air strikes from the government but that the situation is “already getting miserable”. ||||| Damascus - Did [Syrian Vice-President] Farouk al-Sharaa defect? No, he is under house arrest. No, he is now under the protection of armed opposition groups. He arrived to Jordan accompanied by dozens of officers. In fact, he is on his way to Paris where a senior official is waiting for him. 
 
 These, and many more, are the rumors that were often repeated and shared on internet sites by opponents of the Syrian regime. 
 
 Farouk al-Sharaa is outside the decision-making circles. He has been cut off from important discussions. The Syrian leadership is not speaking to him. He has been isolated and relieved of his duties as vice-president, without a job since the funeral of the high-ranking officers in the explosion at the State Security building. 
 
 But the truth is neither this or that. Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa is at the heart of the action, but not in the decision-making circles. These, and others, are the inside stories brought back to the Syrian capital by visitors who support the Syrian regime. 
 
 But the truth is neither this or that. Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa is at the heart of the action, but not in the decision-making circles. He keeps in touch with a few officials, speaks to President [Bashar al-Assad] from time to time, and communicates with some of the leadership. 
 
 His residence is under the same security precautions as those of figures in the decision-making circles, and so are his movements. But he is full of energy and also keeps communication channels open with members of the opposition and figures who are not connected to the state or the regime. 
 
 Sharaa has his own views on the daily events, including criticisms and apprehensions, which he kept expressing in official meetings, but without going public in the media. 
 
 Something has changed, however. 
 
 Sharaa is not pessimistic, but his heart is heavy with concern about the country and he describes the situation as it is. He does not feel compelled to be involved in every detail, especially when he cannot change the suggested solutions. He cannot remain silent about the mistakes and issues that are threatening the future of the country. As a veteran of the regime, he does not need anyone to tell him when and how to get involved. 
 
 A Barricaded City 
 
 The road to Damascus is not as it was six months ago, or a year ago, or a year and a half ago. The crisis gripping Syria has left its mark on everything. The military and security checkpoints with the cement barricades, a scene quite familiar to the Lebanese, are present. 
 
 Upon a closer look, one discovers that they are forming a spiral queue around a bakery, to buy unaffordable bread. 
 
 The unusual sight of scores of citizens surrounding a building grabs your attention. Upon closer look, one discovers that they are forming a spiral queue around a bakery, to buy unaffordable bread. 
 
 Farouk al-Sharaa sits in his home, which was reached by passing through several military checkpoints. He gives an account of the Syrian landscape since the first day of the crisis. 
 
 He speaks about the regime and the party and state leadership. He describes what is happening on the ground and the roles played by foreign powers against Syria and its historical role in the region. 
 
 But none of this seems to distract him, not even for one moment, from a sense of responsibility to play a role and propose a way out for Syria from the deepening crisis. 
 
 He is a friend of the Russian people, which are loyal to their historical relationship with the Syrians. He fondly describes his memories of China, the great country that developed itself surely and calmly, to become one of the strongest forces on Earth. 
 
 As for Iran, he believes it is the closest power to Syria, and not just the regime. Following its revolution, he believes that Iran was on its way becoming a great democratic experiment, were it not for the [Iran-Iraq] war imposed on it. 
 
 He acknowledges that it took the right position on the central Arab cause, Palestine, and supported the resistance in Lebanon, which rightfully expunged Israel from South Lebanon in the year 2000 and deterred its aggression in July 2006. 
 
 Sharaa has trusted the wisdom of Iran’s spiritual leader Ali Khamenei, even since his time as president of Iran, and lauds [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah’s resilience. He is convinced that they could have played a bigger role in reaching an early political solution to the Syrian crisis. 
 
 Sharaa follows all the events in the Arab world. In his opinion, Egypt witnessed a seismic shift and there is no turning back. But the political and media mobilization should continue and not ignore what continues to take place in that country. 
 
 Sharaa informed all those who contact him that he will not accept and does not aspire to head any transitional government. According to Sharaa, Egypt is a country that transcends history and the relationship with it should be solid and healthy. It can do a lot for Arabs. Its situation today should be closely monitored, because it will not immediately achieve the conclusive results hoped for by the Egyptians. 
 
 What pains him most is that Syria did not have a chance to capitalize on the US failure in Iraq and the troubled withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan. He sees that other countries in the region, such as Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia were able to benefit from the US pullout, while Syria sunk into a major ongoing crisis. 
 
 Farouk al-Sharaa, a veteran Baathist and diplomat who hails from the Houran plains, is one Syrian official who is known for his integrity and wisdom. He has his views on everything and lived through an intense experience with the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. 
 
 He stood by Bashar al-Assad from the very first moment, seeing in him a chance for change and moving Syria somewhere more advanced. But since the beginning of the crisis in 2011, he felt that the odds are not in his favor. 
 
 Sharaa informed all those who contact him that he will not accept and does not aspire to head any transitional government. He is only worried about Syria. He says what he needs to say in support of certain steps, in criticism of a decision or a behavior, or in objection to a certain orientation or action. 
 
 Sharaa is one of the Syrian officials who seems most aware of the magnitude of the changes in the Arab world. He is also one of the most capable of conducting self-criticism of the Baath party and its role or of the regime, its mechanisms, and institutions. 
 
 Sharaa does not act outside his mandate, go over the president’s head, or play behind his back. He mocks the media for the talk about his defection. Sharaa had been absent from the media for a long time. Now he returns to say words with meanings. He is an official who wants to see something new, but keeps his respect for the work of the state. 
 
 Sharaa does not act outside his mandate, go over the president’s head, or play behind his back. He mocks the media for the talk about his defection. 
 
 The Militarization of the Protests 
 
 Sharaa differentiates between two opposition mobilizations. He has a clear view of the situation in his country, since the first days of the crisis. 
 
 At the beginning of the mobilization, the authorities begged for the appearance of a single armed person or a sniper at the top of one of the buildings. Today, every single authority in Syria is complaining – even to the UN Security Council – about the spread of armed groups, which are impossible to count or monitor. 
 
 There are cities and cities’ peripheries which have been completely “cleansed” and their inhabitants displaced. The fighters were able to return several times, but the residents couldn’t. 
 
 “Does anyone have the right to shove the country into a bottleneck which cannot be escaped without breaking the glass?” Sharaa wonders bitterly whenever he sees images of the bodies of innocent citizens and the disfigurement caused by the shelling, explosions, and car bombs, which target people, infrastructure, public and private utilities, and scientific minds in the country. 
 
 “Those who commit these crimes and those who support them are guilty and have lost all sense of patriotism, morality, and humanity,” he says. 
 
 There were many mistakes made by the Arab League and the [Syrian] state both, which cannot be forgotten or stepped over. “The drop in the number of peaceful protesters led one way or another to the rise in militants,” Sharaa maintains. “While it is the duty of the state to provide its citizens with security, this is different than deciding on a military solution to the crisis. The two issues should not be mixed.” 
 
 “All of this should have required a discussion of mechanisms and an attempt at a Syrian-Syrian solution. The dialogue we adopted in July 2011 aimed at solving the crisis politically from the start, by Syrian hands,” he adds. 
 
 “But things did not go in this direction,” Sharaa explains. “The crisis was Arabized. Syria, a founding member of the League of Arab States, saw its membership suspended from the league without justification or a pretext that could convince Syrian citizens.” 
 
 “There were many mistakes made by the Arab League and the [Syrian] state both, which cannot be forgotten or stepped over,” he surmises. 
 
 But where is the responsibility of the Syrian state in investigating the causes for the crisis reaching this level, especially in the militarization of the protests? Weren’t there commissions of inquiry set up for this? 
 
 We must be in the position of defending Syria’s existence. We are not in a battle for the survival of an individual or a regime. “No credible commission of inquiry was set up at the beginning of the crisis. If some were set up, the results were not made public, allowing for the spread of rumors that lost the regime its credibility and stature in the eyes of those who were wronged internally and outside observers,” he explains. 
 
 The Country’s Survival, Not Ours 
 
 The Syrian vice-president acknowledges that the crisis is deep. “With every passing day, the solution gets further away, militarily and politically,” he warns. “We must be in the position of defending Syria’s existence. We are not in a battle for the survival of an individual or a regime.” 
 
 Sharaa believes that Syria’s problems “have multiplied and are complicated to an extent where ongoing military operations cannot be kept away from the normal life of citizens.” 
 
 Are We In a Process of Resolution? 
 
 According to Sharaa, “several issues must be tackled in order to reach a solution. Nobody has the illusion that things will return to what they used to be, because you cannot turn back the clock.” 
 
 “[UN peace envoy] Lakhdar Brahimi keeps repeating in his statements that things are going from bad to worse. I cannot deny this but, for over a year, I have been seeing the line that links the events. The way events are heading will lead to an uncomfortable place where things will definitely go from bad to worse.,” he remarks. “But the problem is that Mister Brahimi is slow and careful, while events on the ground are accelerating and becoming more violent.” 
 
 “From my perspective, I am not completely certain where the current option will take us. I do not have a transparent answer. Officials might not even know where we have reached in the solution,” he explains. “You might be surprised if I tell you that even the president himself might not be able to provide you with a satisfactory answer, although he has all the power in the country in his hands.” 
 
 “What is happening in Syria is complicated, elaborate, and intricate. If you try to unravel it, it might get more complex and the hidden stitches could multiply, instead of guiding you to a solution,” he elucidates. 
 
 The solution will not be realistic unless it was initiated at the highest levels. “If anyone has the chance to meet Mister President, he would hear from him that this is a long struggle, a big conspiracy with many actors (terrorists, rabble, smugglers). He does not hide his desire for a military solution that achieves a decisive victory, and only then would the political dialogue be actually possible. Many in the [Baath] party, the [National Progressive] Front (NPF), and the military forces have been convinced from the onset of the crisis that there is no alternative to a political solution and that there is no turning back,” he adds. 
 
 Sharaa believes that “the solution will not be realistic unless it was initiated at the highest levels. The president of the republic is also the general commander of the armed forces. He appoints the prime minister, leads the ruling party, and chooses the head of the people’s assembly.” 
 
 “But, at the same time, there are the executive, legislative, and judiciary institutions, which are directly responsible for running the country’s affairs,” he informs. “These institutions have heads, general directors, and governing boards, who work, some who claim to work, according to the directions. Sometimes they make up their minds by pointing to the picture above their desks, meaning that the directive is not up for discussion.” 
 
 No Change Without Partners 
 
 “In 1970, many state institutions were built on top of the inconsistencies and conflicts of the revolutionary command council back then, based on an agreed upon pact (for example, the NPF, the people’s assembly, and local administrations). These institutions started to deteriorate and were not renewed, despite multiple attempts to restructure them since president Bashar al-Assad assumed leadership in the year 2000,” Sharaa explains. 
 
 “These institutions then started to function based on their own inertia. This could be partially acceptable in times of stability and decades of security. But how could it happen during major crises and the resulting destruction of infrastructure and homes, the lack of electricity, the stoppage of hospitals in many cities and towns, and the escalating internal and external displacement?” he asks. “This is not to mention the detention of thousands of people who are not presented in front of the courts, as if we are still under martial law.” 
 
 “Neither the [Syrian] National Coalition, nor the Istanbul Council, nor the National Coordination Body as a multi-polar internal opposition, nor any opposition faction be it civilian or armed with their external ties, can claim to be the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian People, just as the current rule with its ideological army and its confrontation parties lead by the Baath, with its years of experience and rooted bureaucracy, cannot achieve change and progress alone without new partners who can contribute to maintaining the fabric of the homeland, the integrity of its territory, and its regional sovereignty. The loss of trust between these two sides, and therefore the impossibility of getting together for a direct dialogue, will lead to continuous destruction and dismantling, which will only benefit the Israeli occupation at this stage,” he declares confidently. 
 
 Sharaa believes that “the political, economic, and social structure of the country is changing day by day and in front of our eyes. What is happening in Syria is homologous with what happened in the early 1990s in the countries of Eastern Europe. We should also note that those countries did not enter into civil clashes or destructive wars, during the transformation in their structure of their regimes, although they faced suffocating economic crises.” 
 
 Leadership Discussions 
 
 Does the leadership have one opinion or are they just obeying the orders? Does the president listen, for example, to opinions that differ from his diagnosis? 
 
 “Of course, there are opinions and viewpoints among the political leadership. But the issue is not in a place that could lead to talk about different currents or deep divisions,” Sharaa replies. 
 
 “When I took care of the dialogue dossier, as vice president, in July 2011, I agreed to this appointment based on my convictions and everyone else’s in the national dialogue commission that this was a real step and not just a tactical move.” 
 
 “I do not deny that some of us acted as if [the dialogue] was unnecessary and whispered this to the leadership. So it distanced itself under the pretext that the internal and external opposition saw it as one of the regime’s charades. In the end, this finished off the political dialogue and opened the doors wide for the dialogue of bullets and guns. Today, Syria witnesses a sharp economic and livelihood crisis, in addition to the political and military conflict.” 
 
 Does anyone have the illusion that this people will accept foreign armies on Syrian soil? This will never happen and it will be resisted. “When we say that we refuse any external intervention, we base this on the fact that there was no consensus from the people to involve our national army in the crisis to begin with. So does anyone have the illusion that this people will accept foreign armies on Syrian soil? This will never happen and it will be resisted. The preeminence and unity of the Syrian army are indispensable in any of the proposed political solutions and discussions.” 
 
 But is the crisis only connected to political considerations? 
 
 “In any evaluation, we cannot ignore the local components linked with the economic situation and the policies implemented in the recent years at least. We also cannot ignore the actual need for a meaningful change in all of the state apparatus and its institutions. Real change is one which is based on solving the pressing issues based on requisite priorities. Maybe in the past we did not listen very carefully or take into consideration comments about the need for quick change. But we learn from our experience and that of others. Today, we understand that change is inevitable. If the regime does not take the initiative to achieve it with the others, it will happen through unilateral dictates from them.” 
 
 A Syrian Solution 
 
 How do you perceive the solution? 
 
 “Any logic based on the premise of rejecting dialogue indicates the desire for Syrians not to reach a solution on their own. Therefore, any settlement, whether starting with talks or agreements between Arab, regional, or foreign capitals, cannot exist without a solid Syrian foundation. The solution has to be Syrian, but through a historic settlement, which would include the main regional countries, and the members of UN Security Council. This settlement must include stopping all shapes of violence, and the creation of a national unity government with wide powers. This should be accompanied by the resolution of sensitive dossiers related to the lives of people and their legitimate demands.” 
 
 I do not see that what the security forces and the army units are doing will not reach a conclusive end. “The problem gets bigger and deeper when some start thinking that victory and defeat are possible. The opposition forces combined cannot decide the battle of overthrowing the regime militarily, unless they aim to pull the country into chaos and an unending circle of violence. Meanwhile, I do not see that what the security forces and the army units are doing will not reach a conclusive end, especially since we understand, without any illusions, the threat of the current campaign to destroy Syria, its history, civilization, and people. Brahimi’s contacts and visits, as well as the Geneva initiative, can be considered a suitable foundation for this settlement. I am not exaggerating when I say that reaching a historic settlement for the Syrian crisis might pave the way for an international environment of solving other important issues, through political means and not through military confrontation.” 
 
 But is the historical settlement ripe? 
 
 Sharaa hopes so, but is quick to add that “if each side involved in the settlement thinks that they can get all they expect and aspire to, then the legitimate national outlook of the Syrian people will be lost and the region’s fate will enter a dark tunnel.” ||||| Lyrical demonstration in the al-Hamdania section of Aleppo in Syria on Thursday night 
 
 See also Syria Feature: The Allied "Nerve Centre" in Turkey Aiding Insurgents (Doherty/Bakr) Syria Feature: Why Tribes Matter 
 
 Turkey Opinion: Ankara's Uncertain Strategy in the Middle East 
 
 Syria Snapshot: The University Students Caught in the Conflict 
 
 Thursday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting Continues in Aleppo and Damascus 
 
 1810 GMT: Syria. Russia has made a direct threat that any attack on its naval base in Tartous will be met with extreme prejudice: 
 
 "If the armed Syrian opposition ventures to implement their threat and to attack the Russian naval supplies and maintenance facility, Russia has ample capabilities in the region now to provide an adequate response. We won't recommend hotheads in the Syrian opposition doing that," a source in the Russian General Staff told the Interfax news agency. 
 
 What's fascinating is the source also added a line about the Syrian government having stepped up their support of the base as well. 
 
 Also interesting, the word "now," indicating that the Russians have significantly stepped up their ability to strike targets inside Syria. 
 
 Still, it's an unverified threat from a low-level anonymous staff member. One would expect any attack on Russian property to be met with force. What's interesting isn't the content of the report - it's the fact that a threat was made in the first place. Whether this was a direct response to a threat from insurgents, or a provocation, is not known. 
 
 1801 GMT: Syria. Today's death toll has risen to 90, according to the Local Coordinating Committees: 
 
 30 martyrs in Daraa, 18 martyr in Damascus and its Suburbs, 15 martyr in Aleppo, 10 martyrs in Homs, 8 martyrs in Deir Ezzor, 3 martyrs in Hama, 3 martyrs in Idlib, 2 martyrs in Lattakia,and 1 martyr in Raqqa. 
 
 So far, most of the fighting in Aleppo appears to have been instigated by the Free Syrian Army, though helicopters have attacked several neighborhoods, and there were reports that bombs have fallen, though it's unclear if that terminology means that jet fighters have once again been used. 
 
 The high numbers of casualties in Damascus are of note. Several neighborhoods, especially in the south, have been shelled today, despite the fact that we have not seen any evidence that there have been clashes between the military and the FSA in Damascus. 
 
 In Daraa, the high death toll is another sign that the regime is extremely weary of this region and is willing to shell any city that it suspects may put up a fight. In a region so close to the borders with both Jordan and Lebanon, and a region so close to the capital, the Assad regime suffers no rival. Yet, if today's FSA raids on a police station in the center of Daraa are any indication, like it or not there is an insurgency in Daraa province as well. It's just not as centralized or organized as the insurgency elsewhere. 
 
 1745 GMT: Syria. Syrian forces have moved into Darayya, southwest of Damascus (map), with force, and as one can hear, they met some resistance. 
 
 Earlier, the CFDPC, a network of activists who report on Damascus and its suburbs, had this report: 
 
 Violent shelling continues on the Daraya suburb of Damascus, other 2 corpses have been found so the death toll has risen to 17 (yesterday and today). More than 60 people were reported injured. 
 
 We're not sure if the death toll has increased since this report. 
 
 1558 GMT: Syria. Poland has evacuated its embassy staff from Damascus. 
 
 The move also halts representation of US interests, covered by Poland since Washington withdrew its diplomats in February. 
 
 1537 GMT: Syria. Microblogger and activist @markito0171 believes that the building captured in the video we posted earlier is a major military base in the Bab al Hadid area of Aleppo (map). That report seems to correspond to others we're beginning to see emerge from Aleppo. Combined with the news of other FSA gains in the area, it suggests that while the Syrian military is still readying itself to retake Aleppo, Syria's largest city, the Free Syrian Army is mopping up regime checkpoints, sniper nests, and bases, and is making preparations to resist the Syrian army. 
 
 The common knowledge analysis is that the regime will be able to overwhelm the FSA. But the FSA is significantly outgunned in many areas of Idlib, in and around Homs, and in the northeaster suburbs of Damascus - all areas that the regime has either failed to regain control of, or areas that have put up strategically significant resistance in the past. 
 
 1529 GMT: Syria. The LCC now reports that 70 people have been killed by regime forces so far today: 
 
 21 martyrs in Daraa, 15 martyr in Damascus and its Suburbs, 11 martyr in Aleppo, 10 martyrs in Homs, 6 in Deir Ezzor, 2 martyrs in Lattakia, 2 martyrs in Hama, 2 martyrs in in Idlib and 1 martyr in Raqqa. 
 
 Many of those killed in Daraa are victims of shelling, the military response to FSA fighters in the area. 
 
 1517 GMT: Saudi Arabia. Arrests have been made in Qatif, after police and protesters clashed in the eastern part of the country, an area that is growing more tense by the day. 
 
 The arrests took place in the city of Qatif after "rioters" set tyres on fire during an overnight demonstration, an interior ministry statement said. It said there were no casualties, but witnesses said several people were wounded when police opened fire. 
 
 1455 GMT: Syria. It looks like there may be another victory for the FSA in Aleppo: 
 
 This building does not look like the other one captured by the FSA today, and Bab al Hadid (map) is in the very center of the city, not the southern outskirts. 
 
 1445 GMT: Syria. The Guardian has talked to an activist in the Fardous district of Aleppo (map), who says that "bombs and helicopters" fell in the area, killing at least 15 and wounding another 25. They have also posted a graphic video of the aftermath of the event. 
 
 He also adds that the FSA has made a significant victory in the area, freeing captured detainees in the process: 
 
 Omar said the Free Syrian Army (FSA) took control of the Sour al-Hajj roundabout in al-Fardous as well as a five-storey building that had been under the control of regime forces. After capturing the building, the FSA found 75 detainees that no one had known about, he added.. 
 
 It is not known whether this building is the same as the one we showed in entry 1241. Either way, it is a significant victory for the FSA. 
 
 1436 GMT: Syria. More signs that the FSA has been underestimated in Aleppo - this video reportedly shows dozens of regime military, security, and "shabiha" captured by members of the Free Syrian Army: 
 
 1426 GMT: Syria. Another video shows smoke rising in the Mahatta area in the center of Daraa (map, see update 1149). Two more videos show tanks racing through the city (1, 2), a sign of the kind of firepower that the regime is willing to use to keep Daraa under control. 
 
 1404 GMT: Syria. Three major cities in the east, al Bukamal, al Mayadeen, and Deir Ez Zor (map), are all locations of heavy fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the Assad military. Al Bukamal and Deir Ez Zor have been heavily shelled today, and the LCC reports that a military convoy has stormed al Mayadeen. 
 
 This video reportedly shows some of the damage in Deir Ez Zor, a city that is starting to resemblles Homs: 
 
 1355 GMT: Syria. Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the former head of the United Nations observers, has said, "Sooner or later, the regime will fall." He added: 
 
 The spiral of violence, the lack of proportion in the regime's reactions, its incapacity to protect the civilian population, mean that the regime's days are numbered, but will it fall in a week or in a year? That is a question I do not dare answer. 
 
 Mood warned that the toppling of Assad might not end the conflict: 
 
 Many think that if Bashar al-Assad falls or that if he is given an honorable exit...the problem will be solved. That is an over-simplification one should be wary of. The situation could even get worse. 
 
 1344 GMT: Syria. The Guardian reports that the FSA offensive actions in Aleppo appear to be expanding: 
 
 The Free Syrian Army have surrounded the south-west Aleppo district of al-Ansari a resident told the Guardian, writes Rima Cherri. Ahmad Mejbi said the rebels were placing road barriers in Salahaddine, which neighbours Ansari to the north. "Last night the government's forces bombed Jamil Qabbani school between 10pm and 11pm last night in the al-Mashhad, which is next to Ansari on the eastern side. "Today, there were helicopters around Salahaddine, Mashhad and Sukuri, in the south, he said. "Yesterday at 2pm Ahmad said he saw 24 buses packed with rebel fighters on a in Ansari." 
 
 With FSA action in the Salah el Dine district (map), it is now clear that the FSA will not wait around for the regime to attack. These preemptive actions are a clear action that the FSA will defend the city, but they are also attempts to rob the Syrian regime of the initiative. 
 
 While others are predicting a massacre, we suspect that the Syrian military will pay heavily for an assault on Aleppo, even if they do eventually retake these areas. 
 
 1340 GMT: Syria. A secret base in Turkey is supplying arms, intelligence, and communications equipment to the Free Syrian Army, according to Reuters. 
 
 1332 GMT: Syria. This video was taken near the Shafei Mosque, in the Masaken al-Sabil district in Aleppo (map). Zilal, who is familiar with Aleppo, says the area is a very nice, quiet residential area of the city. The protest is fairly large, but at the very end of the video gunfire erupts: 
 
 1318 GMT: Syria. An activist gives a tour of a street in the Al Sakhour district (map), an attempt to show damage he says was caused by Syrian air force jet fighters. However, sitting in the middle of the street is a sign of why the Syrian government has resorted to bombing its largest city - a tank destroyed in recent fighting: 
 
 1305 GMT: Syria. We've been speaking with Zilal, an activist working to sort the news from Syria. She shows us this video, reportedly showing a vehicle, driven by FSA fighters, tearing into regime forces in Ma'arrat al Nouman, in Idlib province (map). According to reports, the FSA successfully stopped a military convoy headed towards Aleppo, and the city is now being heavily shelled: 
 
 1250 GMT: Iraq and Syria. The Kurdistan News Agency, AK News, reports that Iraqi military and the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government's peshmerga forces have clashed near the country's border with Syria. 
 
 AK News, citing KRG Deputy Minister of Peshmerga Anwar Haji Osman, claimed that two Iraqi brigades assaulted the 8th Peshmerga Brigade early this morning. Later in the day, however, Maj. Gen. Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for the KRG forces, said the report was baseless. 
 
 Yawar claimed a regiment from the 10th Iraqi Division was to be deployed to the border with Syria on Friday morning, but that the 8th Peshmerga Brigade prevented the army from entering, saying they had already secured the area. 
 
 “There was no sort of war or confrontation between the Iraqi army and peshmerga,” Yawar said. 
 
 1241 GMT: Syria. Everyone's waiting for the other shoe to drop in Aleppo - the sudden attack on the positions held by the Free Syrian Army by Assad military forces that have been staging nearby. However, it seems the FSA is not waiting at all, and is on the offensive in the city. Fighting is reported in many areas, and the FSA has successfully managed to liberate this building (the Hreitani building, according to some activists), in the Al Sukkari district in southern Aleppo (map). The building was a military checkpoint, and was reportedly filled with regime snipers. 
 
 1233 GMT: Syria. Destined to be lost in today's chaos, large protests have happened in many areas of Syria today, some of them very close to where there is heavy fighting. 
 
 An activist posts a video from Kobani (map), an area liberated by Kurdish forces last week: 
 
 Every Friday, the Idlib town of Kafranbel never fails to supply witty and cutting slogans. With fighting in Ma'arrat al Nouman, just east of here (map), the protesters are still not deterred: 
 
 Kafranbel's protest today - "Better to die on our feet than live on our knees" - youtube.com/watch?v=pCZ7zk… #Idlib #Syria — Sami al-Hamwi (@HamaEcho) July 27, 2012 
 
 1216 GMT: Syria. Another journalist, Fredrik Johansson, points us in the direction of a possible spark (or outcome, it's not yet clear) of today's fighting in Daraa. According to the Local Coordinating Committees, a police station was captured in the Palestinian camps (map) by members of the Free Syrian Army. 
 
 Sami al-Hamwi shares another video, one filled with blood and gunfire: 
 
 1149 GMT: Syria. We showed the videos from Daraa (below) to Syrian activist Sami al-Hamwi, who confirms that this is Daraa. He also shares with us a series of videos from a report from the Local Coordinating Committee in Daraa, showing battles in the Palestine camp next to Mahatta (map). This appears to be the source of the report. 
 
 A contact has previously pointed out the irony that the Palestinians inside Syria appear to be taking up arms against the Assad regime, first in Damascus, and now in Daraa. 
 
 1135 GMT: Syria. The Mahatta district, in the very center of Daraa (map), has been heavily shelled today. 
 
 However, a different series of videos has emerged showing FSA fighters firing machine guns at a tank in the area, and there are suggestions of an even wider battle. One of the videos is below: 
 
 1118 GMT: Syria. All eyes are on Aleppo, but another significant development may have happened in Idlib province. Today, Ma'arrat al Nouman, on an important crossroads in Idlib province (map), has been heavily shelled. Here's another video that shows shells falling at dawn: 
 
 Based on what we know from statements from the Syrian military, forces are being redirected from other areas, particularly from Hama and Idlib provinces, towards Aleppo. It's surprising, then, to find this level of violence. A Pakistani journalist has a remarkable claim - that the fighters from the Free Syrian Army have attacked, and successfully stopped, the advance of a convoy of military troops and vehicles headed towards Aleppo. Even more interesting - he says he heard these reports from a Kurdish commander in the region. 
 
 We can't verify this specific detail, but his report matches other reports, mostly in Arabic, circulating on Twitter today. 
 
 1101 GMT: Syria. According to the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria (LCCS), a network of activists working to verify news from the war-torn country, 35 people have been killed already today: 
 
 9 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs, 8 in Daraa, 5 in Aleppo, 5 in Homs, 2 in Lattakia, 2 in Deir Ezzor, 2 in Idlib, 1 in Hama, and 1 in Raqqa. 
 
 But things are really just getting going. Reports of violence in Aleppo are starting to pour in at a faster pace. It's still too early to tell if the regime has really ramped up its efforts to retake the city yet, however. 
 
 James Miller takes over today's live coverage. Thanks to Scott Lucas for getting us started this morning. 
 
 0940 GMT: Syria. United Nations Human Rights Commissoner Navi Pillay has spoken about the "likelihood of an imminent major confrontation" in Aleppo and appealed to all sides: "Civilians and civilian objects --- including homes and other property, businesses, schools and places of worship --- must be protected at all times. All parties, including the government and opposition forces, must ensure that they distinguish between civilian and military targets." 
 
 Pillay spoke of a "discernable pattern" in regime attacks to clear insurgents: "All this, taken along with the reported build-up of forces in and around Aleppo, bodes ill for the people of that city." 
 
 The Commissioner also said attacks were continuing in Homs and Deir Ez Zor. 
 
 0854 GMT: Syria. Alex Thomson of Britain's Channel 4 reports: 
 
 Many mosques shut today in Damascus and damaged by shelling, There will be no prayers there today. Many suburbs empty of people. — alex thomson (@alextomo) July 27, 2012 
 
 0823 GMT: Syria. In Tehran, a Syrian delegation and Iranian officials have signed two memoranda of understanding for the expansion of bilateral cooperation over electricity and water. 
 
 Iranian Minister of Energy Majid Namjoo said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran will not leave Syria alone in such a difficult situation." 
 
 0815 GMT: Syria. Activists report regime firing in the southwest of Aleppo in the Salaheddin, Bustan al-Qasr, Sukari, Al-Mashhad, and Al-Azamiya neighborhoods, as well as clashes in the central Jamiliya district, Mahatat Baghdad, and Saadallah al-Jabiri Square. 
 
 In Salaheddin, an AFP photographer saw insurgent preparations for a a regime assault, with improvised barriers made up of sandbags and a bus and makeshift clinics set up inside schools and mosques. 
 
 0700 GMT: Syria. Ma'aret Nu'man in Idlib Province has reportedly been under sustained regime shelling this morning --- footage of a large explosion: 
 
 0650 GMT: Syria. Ikhlas al-Badawi, an MP for Aleppo, has defected and crossed the Turkish border. 
 
 "I have crossed to Turkey and defected from this tyrannical regime...because of the repression and savage torture against a nation demanding the minimum of rights," al-Badawi said. 
 
 Badawi represented the "labourers and peasants" sector, the state-backed labour and farmers bloc who are guaranteed half the places in the 250-seat assembly. 
 
 0620 GMT: Syria. The English text of Thursday's Asharg Al-Awsat interview with defected General Manaf Tlass, part of what appears to be his promotion as a "transitional leader" (see separate EA feature), has been posted. An extract: 
 
 I am not looking for power; I am looking for security and stability for Syria, and if I have the opportunity to participate – as any ordinary Syrian citizen – in rebuilding Syria, then I am ready. However I am not looking for power, and I did not leave Syria in order to lead the transitional period. I am aware that this will be a difficult period, and it would be very difficult for any single individual to shoulder this responsibility during this period. Therefore what should happen is that a team comprising internal and external [Syrian] figures should be formed to cooperate to achieve this [transitional] period. As for myself, I did not leave Syria seeking to obtain any role; I left because I refused to participate in the security solution…that is the main reason for my leaving Syria. 
 
 0610 GMT: Syria. A rally in al-Sha'ar in Aleppo last night: 
 
 The gathering at the Amneh mosque in the Saif al Dawleh neighbourhood: 
 
 0545 GMT: Bahrain. Since the start of Ramadan, activists have been reporting an increase in late-night police raids and violent crackdown of protests in certain Bahrain villages. Over the weekend, security forces were especially focused on Sitra and Bilad AlQadeem. 
 
 On Thursday, the reported violence was even more widespread, with activists claiming incidents in AlDair, Karzakan, Aali, Daih, Sadad, Malkiya, Sehla and Mahooz, as well as Bilad AlQadeem and Sitra, where police clashed with protesters armed with Molotov cocktails. The police weapon of choice was shotgun armed with birdshot. Fatima AlHalwachi, head of monitoring for the European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights claimed: 
 
 This night is the most bloody since months medics at home got tired of extracting Shot Gun pellets from bodies of victims #BAHRAIN #bhrebels — Fatima (@TamtoomHalwachi) July 26, 2012 
 
 Said Yousif of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights tweeted one such injury: 
 
 A dangerous injury to one of the protesters in Mahooz with shotgun shot by riot police tonight#Bahrain” twitter.com/SAIDYOUSIF/sta… — S.YousifAlmuhafda (@SAIDYOUSIF) July 26, 2012 
 
 One reported case appears especially troubling. 11-year old Mohammed Mansoor Mattar was allegedly shot on his body with birdshot and arrested. His family claim he was taken to BDF Military Hospital where they were denied access, until his mother was given permission to see him around 3am local time. 
 
 Last nights violence follows a press conference by oppositon party AlWefaq on the issue of house raids: 
 
 $10 million worth of property and cash has been stolen during house raids in Bahrain over the past year, said Al Wefaq National Islamic Society during a press conference to launch a new campaign “Gangs of Darkness”. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the “constant attacks on homes” in Bahrain by security forces. According to Al Wefaq’s documentation department 270 homes were “raided, robbed or vandalized” in June and July 2012 alone. 
 
 0535 GMT: Syria. State news agency SANA makes no reference to the battle in Aleppo other than "Units from the armed forces on Thursday clashed with armed terrorist groups in Salah Eddin and al-Sukari neighborhoods....An official source told SANA reporter that the clash resulted in killing and wounding a large number of terrorists." 
 
 Its lead story? "President al-Assad Issues Law on Establishing Court to Look into Terrorism-linked Crimes". 
 
 0525 GMT: Syria. After a week of fighting in Aleppo, the country's largest city, there is expectation of a regime assault in an attempt to clear out insurgents. The Assad military has been moving troops and tanks from other areas in the north amid reports that it is already attacking with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft as well as ground fire. 
 
 The news brought a high-profile statement from the US State Department, via spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, on Thursday: 
 
 This is the concern: that we will see a massacre in Aleppo and that's what the regime appears to be lining up for. Our hearts are with the people of Aleppo, and again this is another desperate attempt by a regime that is going down to maintain control, and we are greatly concerned about what they are capable of in Aleppo. 
 
 There was no indication, however, of a response by Washington: "We do not believe that pouring more fuel on the fire is going to save lives," Nuland said. "The route out of this is not more violence ... the route out of this is an end to the violence and a beginning to a true political transition process." 
 
 Beyond the headline news, the insurgents scored a notable victory on Thursday, taking the city of Al Raqqah, halfway between Aleppo and Deir Ez Zor in the north. 
 
 The Local Coordination Committees reported late Thursday that 200 people had been slain by security forces, including 48 in Aleppo Province, 46 in Damascus and it suburbs, 30 in Daraa Province, 27 in Idlib Province, and 21 in Homs Province.
– With fighting rattling Damascus, a leading voice in Syria says Bashar al-Assad can't win the war. But neither side will see a victory, says Farouk al-Sharaa, who has kept a low profile in the conflict and isn't involved in running the government's efforts. Sharaa's comments came in an interview with a pro-Assad newspaper, al-Akhbar. He says the only solution is a "historic settlement" forming a national unity government, with help from neighboring countries and the UN. "Change is inevitable." "We should be in a position defending the existence of Syria. We are not in a battle for an individual or a regime," Sharaa said. Government insiders say he has long opposed the government's military action. Meanwhile, central Damascus—which had been relatively quiet in the conflict—is hearing shelling as the military and fighters set up checkpoints. Residents say a Palestinian district has been told to evacuate, pointing to a coming government offensive, Reuters reports. It was reportedly shelled by regime jets yesterday. For their part, rebels say they're planning to take the central Hama province. "Then we will have the area between Aleppo and Hama liberated and open for us," says a spokesman.