Latest developments in Arab world's unrest:
SYRIA
In a sharp escalation of Syria’s crackdown on dissent, thousands of soldiers backed by tanks pour into the southern town of Daraa, where the five-week-old uprising began, opening fire indiscriminately on civilians before dawn and killing at least 11 people, witnesses say.
The offensive’s detailed planning — from electricity and mobile phone service cuts to checkpoints and house-to-house searches — suggests Syria is planning to impose military-style control on the town.
LIBYA
NATO airstrikes target the center of Moammar Gadhafi’s seat of power, unleashing guided bombs that destroy a multistory library and office in his compound and badly damage a reception hall for visiting dignitaries.
A government official says three people were killed and 45 injured.
Gadhafi’s whereabouts at the time of the attack on his sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound were unclear, but a spokesman says he is not in hiding and is in "high spirits."
Meanwhile, Gadhafi’s troops on the outskirts of Misrata unleash more shells into the last major rebel city in western Libya, killing 10 people, including an entire family, a doctor says.
YEMEN
Forces loyal to Yemen’s embattled president open fire on protesters demanding his ouster, killing two and wounding dozens at demonstrations in two cities, activists say.
Raising the prospects of more violence, a deal by Arab mediators to broker President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s departure after 32 years in power appears to have failed.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The United Arab Emirates detains five activists who signed a pro-democracy petition last month on accusations of "opposing the government," the state news agency says.
The activists are being questioned on suspicion of "perpetrating acts that pose a threat to state security" and insulting the rulers of Abu Dhabi, including Crown Prince Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is to meet President Barack Obama Tuesday.
Political activity is severely restricted in the UAE, an alliance of seven semiautonomous states, each ruled by a hereditary sheik.
