Syria: Rebels 'overrun Aleppo police stations' - live updates - The Guardian (blog)

Syria

• Government troops have been shelling several neighbourhoods of Aleppo, including the rebel stronghold of Salaheddin, according to activists. The Independent's Kim Sengupta, who has been in Salaheddin, said state TV claims that the government had "complete control" of the district were "obviously false". He said: "The Independent travelled through parts of eastern and south-eastern parts with the rebels seemingly firmly in control."

• Damascus and its suburbs, Deir el-Zour, Dera, Homs, Idlib and, Latakia, have also been shelled, according to the Local Coordination Committees activist group. It says eight people have been killed by regime forces so far today, including two rebel commanders in Aleppo.

• Fierce clashes have been reported at police stations in Aleppo. The head of the Aleppo military council was quoted as saying 60 government soldiers were killed at a police station. A Twitter account claiming affiliation with the Free Syrian Army claimed that at least 40 police officers were killed after the FSA overran two police stations. The claims cannot be independently verified by the Guardian.

• Government forces destroyed nine four-wheel drive vehicles with mounted machine guns, killing all of their occupants, state media reported. Sana said the "terrorists" were "perpetrating killing and sabotage acts in Daret Azzeh and Qibtan al-Jabal".

• Scores of foreign jihadists have crossed into Syria from Turkey in the past two weeks, some of them telling Syrians that they are planning to travel to Aleppo to join a decisive battle against regime troops. Syrian residents and a Turkish smuggler interviewed by the Guardian say many of the men have come from the Caucasus, while others had arrived from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Gulf Arab states.

• The Guardian's Ghaith Abdul-Ahad has met men in Deir el-Zour fighting for al-Qaida alongside the Free Syrian Army.

"Some people are worried about carrying the [black] flags," said Abu Khuder. "They fear America will come and fight us. So we fight in secret. Why give Bashar and the west a pretext?" But their existence is common knowledge in Mohassen. Even passers-by joke with the men about car bombs and IEDs.

According to Abu Khuder, his men are working closely with the military council that commands the Free Syrian Army brigades in the region. "We meet almost every day," he said. "We have clear instructions from our [al-Qaida] leadership that if the FSA need our help we should give it. We help them with IEDs and car bombs. Our main talent is in the bombing operations." Abu Khuder's men had a lot of experience in bomb-making from Iraq and elsewhere, he added.

Bahrain

The Islamic Human Rights Commission has called for a ban on a Bahraini Prince visiting the Olympic Games. It says that during the disturbances in Bahrain, Prince Sheikh Nasser rang up a live broadcast on state TV and commenting on demonstrators said, "Anyone who called for the fall of the regime, may a wall fall on his head. Whether he is an athlete, socialite or politician — whatever he is — he will be held accountable . . . Bahrain is an island and there is nowhere to escape". Chair of IHRC, Massoud Shadjareh said:

It seems like Britain is a safe haven for human rights violators who happen to be friends with the UK government.

Yemen

Eight people were killed in clashes between Yemeni government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, who were trying to storm the interior ministry in the capital Sanaa today, Reuters reports citing a medical source. The source said a "large number" of people were also wounded in the fighting. It was not clear whether those killed were soldiers or tribesmen.