Syria, Libya and Middle East unrest

Guardian Sunday 17 July 2011

Syria

• Troops backed by tanks entered the town of Zabadani near the border with Lebanon and are carrying out a campaign of arrests, according to activists, the Independent reports.
• Tens of thousands of Syrians took to the streets on Saturday, shouting "we want freedom" while carrying caskets of of some of the protesters killed during protest rallies on Friday, al-Jazeera reports.
• Activists claim nine people were killed on Saturday, including two in the central city of Homs and four in Boukamal in the east.

Libya

• Muammar Gaddafi has again vowed never to leave Libya, the BBC reports.

They're asking me to leave. I will never leave the land of my ancestors or the people who have sacrificed themselves for me.

• Libyan fighters claim they are close to surrounding the key government-held oil town of Brega. Radio reports said that after three days of heavy fighting, aided by substantial Nato bombing, rebel units had bypassed the town – cutting off the garrison from its supply lines.

Egypt

• Egypt's prime minister Essam Sharaf is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle today. He has accepted the resignation of his foreign minister Mohammed El-Orabi, Reuters reports.

Tunisia

• Tunisian police fired in the air and used teargas early on Sunday to disperse a crowd of about 200 people who had set fire to a police station in a suburb of the capital, Reuters reports.

10.53am: The United Arab Emirates should drop charges against five activists detained since April after they called for democratic reforms, four human rights organisations said today.