3.01pm: This blog has now come to an end and will continue here.

2.09pm: A protest is planned for 3pm outside the Libyan embassy in Knightsbridge, London, today (the press release says 1pm but it's been changed) by the British Libyan Solidarity Campaign For Freedom And Human Rights (BLSC). A counter-demonstration is also planned by Gaddafi supporters (such pro-government demonstrations tend to be organised by the embassy) and in the past Gaddafi supporters and opponents have clashed in London.

2.04pm: Peter Beaumont is following reports from Iran:

This from Tehran Bureau http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/02/clashes-at-demonstrators-tehran-funeral.html "After the calls this week for the executions of Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohammad Khatami, hardliners in the regime have apparently added another big name to the death wish list: Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, president of the Islamic Republic between 1989 and 1997. Radio Zamaneh reports: Two days after the February 14 protests, supporters of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, shown on national TV chanting slogans in Qom calling for the death of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. The moderate cleric is the chairman of Iran's two major governing bodies, the Assembly of Experts and the Expediency Council. The attacks against Hashemi Rafsanjani have come despite firm condemnation of the February 14 protests by the Assembly of Experts. The Assembly of Experts has accused the protests of falsely using the recent Arab uprisings to further "seditious" objectives. The Assembly of Experts is the body that selects the Supreme Leader and (nominally, at least) supervises his activities. The Expediency Council advises the Supreme Leader and, in Iran's complex governing apparatus, adjudicates conflicts between the Majles (parliament) and the Guardian Council, the body charged with vetting the Majles's legislation for conformity with the Iranian Constitution and Islamic law. Meanwhile Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's Kalame website is calling for new protests for Sunday, February 20 to protest the death of two opposition supporters and to show support for Iran's Green Movement leadership.

1.50pm: This blog has now come to an end and will continue here.

1.43pm: Here's a summary of events so far:

• Bahrain: Five people are believed to have been killed and scores injured after Bahraini security forces raided peaceful protests in Pearl roundabout in the early hours of Thursday morning. Pictures have emerged showing brutal injuries sustained by protesters and, in one case, a young child. Riot police also targeted doctors and medics, while ambulances were prevented from reaching Pearl roundabout to collect the wounded.

Gulf Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Bahrain tonight to discuss the unrest in the country, according to reports. Bahrain TV, the state channel, has been broadcasting pictures of weapons supposedly seized from protesters at the roundabout in an apparent attempt to blame protesters for the bloodshed.

• Libya: Several hundred supporters of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, have gathered in the capital to oppose online calls for an anti-government "day of rage". There are reports that 14 people have been killed in the country across several cities, while Human Rights Watch said 14 writers, activists and protesters who had been calling for protests have been detained. Protests have been reported in Beghazi, Zentana and al Bayda, where an opposition group says four people have been killed.

Gaddafi's regime is reportedly sending out text messages to Libyans in an attempt to quell protests, in a similar move to that seen in Egypt. "Libyan regime sending SMS to citizens threatening them with live bullets if they continue to demonstrate," @libyanfsl tweeted this morning. There will be a demonstration against Gaddafi, expected to be countered by supporters of the Libyan leader, outside the Libyan embassy in London at 3pm.

• Yemen: Security forces have clashed with anti-government protesters in Yemen for a seventh consecutive day. In Sana'a Associated Press reported that 6,000 protesters marched towards the centre of the city, being forced to fight off attacks "by police and government supporters swinging batons and daggers". A dozen protesters and an unknown number of policemen have been injured, while security officials said police arrested about 50 protesters. Clashes have been reported in several other towns, including the port city of Aden.

1.39pm – Libya: There seems to be little sign of anti-Gaddafi protests in Tripoli at the moment but there are reports of heavy clashes in Libya's second biggest city:

ShababLibya:

we will try to get a rough estimate asap, but now #Benghazi city center is upside down, fire guns rocks #Libya #Feb17

Libyan4life:

New Confirmed reports #Benghazi downtown is a big mess. Burning and guns shooting. Compared to war zone! ALLLAH MA3AKUM AKHWANEE! #Libya

1.31pm – Bahrain: A video posted to YouTube today by ElliottsFather seems to show a large number of tanks driving towards Pearl roundabout this morning.

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1.25pm: My colleague Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, has filed a report on Bahrain's security forces, large numbers of whose personnel are recruited from other countries.

Bahrain's security forces — army, riot police and secret service — are the backbone of the Al Khalifa regime, now facing unprecedented unrest after overnight shootings. But large numbers of their personnel are recruited from other countries, including Jordan, Pakistan and Yemen. Tanks and troops from neighbouring Saudi Arabia were also reported to have deployed in support of Bahraini forces. Precise numbers are a closely-guarded secret, but in recent years the Manama government has made a concerted effort to recruit non-native Sunni Muslims as part of an attempt to swing the demographic balance against the Shia majority — 60-70% of the population of 1 million. Bahrainis often complain that the riot police and special forces do not speak the local Arabic dialect, or in the case of Baluchis from Pakistan, do not speak Arabic at all, and are reviled as mercenaries. Officers are typically Bahrainis, Syrians or Jordanians. Iraqi Baathists who served in Saddam Hussein's security forces were recruited after the US-led invasion in 2003. Only the police employs Bahraini Shias. The secret police — the Bahrain national security agency (known in Arabic as the "Mukhabarat") — has undergone a process of "Bahrainisation" in recent years after being dominated by British long after independence in 1971. Ian Henderson, who retired as its director in 1998, is still remembered as the "Butcher of Bahrain" because of his alleged use of torture. A Jordanian official is currently described as the organisation's "master torturer." "Now they recruit young Bahraini Sunnis to open Twitter accounts to give the government point of view in the social media battle," a local journalist said. The large-scale naturalisation of foreign Sunnis has been described by analysts as a "clear political strategy to alter the country's demographic balance in order to counter the Shia voting power."

1.21pm – Yemen: An update on the seventh day of protests in Yemen from the Associated Press:

Several thousand Yemeni protesters defied appeals for calm from the military and the country's most influential Islamic cleric and marched through the capital on Thursday, pressing on with their campaign to oust the US-allied president. The protesters fought off attacks by police and government supporters swinging batons and daggers. Municipal vehicles ferried sticks and stones to the pro-government side, witnesses said ... Thursday's protests began with small gatherings of students marching toward downtown Sana'a. Many other people joined them as clashes broke out with police and government supporters. The number of protesters reached about 6,000. "People want to topple the president, people want to topple the regime," they chanted. Witnesses said police fired shots into the air to disperse the protesters. A dozen protesters and an unknown number of policemen were injured. Security officials said police arrested about 50 protesters. Clashes were reported Thursday in several other towns, including the port city of Aden. Seeking to hold on to the momentum, activists have called for a "day of rage" Friday. Yemen's official news agency, Saba, reported that President Saleh chaired a meeting of the army's top officers Wednesday night to discuss the turmoil. The Defence Council later called for calm. Another appeal to end the protests came from Yemen's most prominent religious figure, Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, who is close to Saleh. The United States considers him an al-Qaida-linked terrorist. "Change by street protest is rejected. It leads to chaos," al-Zindani said.

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1.11pm – Bahrain: Amnesty International has condemned the Bahraini authorities' actions at Pearl roundabout. It says as many as six people may have been killed. The group's Middle East and North Africa Director Malcolm Smart said:

The Bahraini authorities have again reacted to legitimate protest by using deadly force. They must end their continuing crackdown on activists calling for reform. They must also carry out a full, impartial investigation into the force used this morning against peaceful protesters, including families with children, and whether the use of deadly force was justified. If not, those who gave the orders and used excessive force must be brought to justice.

Amnesty issued a report on the Gulf island a week ago, before the protests for reform began, in which it highlighted "a significant deterioration in the human rights situation in Bahrain".

1.11pm – Bahrain: Gulf Arab foreign ministers will meet in Bahrain this evening to discuss the unrest in the Gulf island kingdom, Reuters reports, citing the Qatar state news agency.

1.10pm – Bahrain: Bahrain TV has been broadcasting its own version of events at Pearl roundabout, trying to pin the blame on the protesters. Global Voices has a good post on this using tweets and screengrabs from Sultan Al Qassemi, a commentator on Arab affairs, who covered the protests in Egypt. It shows guns, bullets, swords and knives supposedly seized from protesters. Bahrain TV also showed graphic footage of injuries to security forces. It goes without saying that the Bahraini government has an interest in blaming the protesters for the tragic events.

1.08pm: Mark Tran on worries the Bahrain situation is causing for the US and its fifth fleet.

1.05pm: @monasosh, who posted the picture earlier purporting to show a child shot in Bahrain, has said the image is not from today:

Trans: I apologize 4 the baby's pic i tweeted it turns out it wasn't from the attack on Bahrain atall @alrruwaili #bahrain #feb14 #lulu

1.01pm: Wondering who has been arming Bahrain's police (whose record on human rights over the last few decades has not been pleasant)? The answer is Britain, explains Peter Beaumont.

Former Labour minister Denis McShane has dug this out from the Department of Business's report on weapons exports. In the third

quarter of 2010 the British government agreed to export licences to Bahrain for this equipment. Bear in mind that the third quarter of 2010 coincides with the elections in Bahrain and the crackdown on Shia opposition groups that saw some 250 people arrested and jailed. Here's what was approved: "CS hand grenades, demolition charges, demolition devices, exploding simulation devices, fire simulation equipment for small arms ammunition, illuminators, military devices for initiating explosives, signal flares, signal hand grenades, smoke ammunition, smoke canisters, smoke generators, smoke hand grenades, stun grenades, tear gas/irritant ammunition, tear gas/riot control agents, thunderflashes, training anti-aircraft ammunition, training hand grenades." (Source: House of Commons Library.) And, yes, if you look at the videos from last night you can see tear gas cannister being used as well as thunder flashes.

12.58pm – Libya: Peter Beaumont on Libya's use of text messages – strikingly similar to what happened in Egypt last week.

Quite a sense of deja vu watching the different tactics being used by the regimes under pressure in the Middle East and North Africa. I now see that Colonel Gaddafi is using the trick used previously by Hosni Mubarrak's regime to frighten the opposition by sending out SMS messages warning that demonstrators will be met with live ammunition if they come out. In Egypt the Mubarak regime used networks, including the British network Vodafone, to send out SMS messages, most notoriously to call on "lovers of Egypt" to rally in support of the regime. That message was the signal for the attack on the opposition in Tahrir Square. The first time I came across this particular "pysops" technique was in Lebanon in 2006 where the Israeli military sent phone messages in a similar way. • This segment was amended on 21 February 2011. The original referred to Vodaphone. This has been corrected.

12.54pm: Some links:

• Abdulnabi Alekry: Bahrain crackdown will make citizens more determined

• Iranian warships turn back from Suez canal

• Audio recording: ABC's Miguel Marquez beaten in Bahrain

• A video, posted by DJMeddi on Twitter, said to show night-time protests in the Libyan city of Beyida

12.47pm: Peter Beaumont writes:

An update on my earlier post on demands of largely Shia protesters in Bahrain. As predicted the anger that has followed last night's horrific attack on the Pearl roundabout, which led to what we now believe are five deaths and scores of injuries, has led to demonstrations outside Bahrain's main hospital where chants have begun against the royal family. If the Bahrain government thought it was going to defuse the protests with such a show of force it obviously has not been paying much attention to events that occurred in Tunisia and Egypt where the use of violence weakened not strengthened the government's position. Its use of the state media has easily been as clumsy as Mubarak and Ben Ali's with state TV showing a very partial account of what happened last night – notably injuries to police officers. I'm not sure that those will be the images picked up around the world when there are pictures circulating of a child shot with a shotgun and a protester with his head torn apart. The Al Wifaq Shia opposition bloc is now also saying it is quitting a parliament instated in 2002 after US pressure that was pretty much designed to paper over Shia demands for more inclusion.

12.45pm – Libya: The Libyan youth movement is tweeting updates of the "day of rage". According to its accounts, the protesters in Benghazi are in the ascendancy but in al Bayda, where four people have been killed according to an opposition group (see 9.29am), the situation is dire:

Reports from Benghazi: city will be free very soon god willing, protesters are overcoming security forces #Feb17 #Libya URGENT, HELP needed for ALBAYDA, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, PLEASE PASS WORD ONTO MEDIA ALBAYDA IN CRISIS #Feb17 #Libya

12.44pm – Bahrain: About 60 people are missing after yesterday's raid at Pearl roundabout, a Shia opposition MP said, according to Reuters, and the main Shia bloc, al-Wifaq, is to quit the Bahraini parliament, a potentially significant move. The involvement of al-Wifaq in the parliament since 2006 has been important in keeping Shia discontent under wraps.

"All the members are going to resign. The decision is taken," Ibrahim Mattar told Reuters. Asked why the bloc, which holds 17 of the assembly's 40 seats, had decided to resign, he said it was because of the overnight raid. "We feel there was a decision to hurt people." Mattar said the whereabouts of about 60 people remained unclear, hours after police forced demonstrators to abandon Pearl roundabout, an intersection in Manama which they had hoped to turn into a protest base similar to Cairo's Tahrir Square. "Are they in prison or did they escape and are now hiding in houses? We don't know," he said, adding that his figure was based on telephone calls received from worried relatives.

Bahrain's military says it has taken control of most of the Gulf island's capital and has banned protests, the Associated Press reports. The military says it has "key parts" of Manama "under control."

The BBC says there is "clear evidence" live rounds were used by police against the protesters when clearing Pearl roundabout this morning.

12.18pm: The UK foreign secretary, William Hague (left), has called on the authorities in Bahrain to "exercise restraint", reports the Press Association:

He said the Bahrain government claimed that the protesters had been asked to move before force was used. But the foreign secretary pointed to other reports that said the police moved in without warning and used tear gas and rubber bullets. "We have conveyed our concern about these events and the level of violence to the government of Bahrain," Mr Hague said. "We are greatly concerned about the deaths that have occurred. I have this morning spoken to the foreign minister of Bahrain and our ambassador spoke last night to the minister of the interior. "In both cases we stressed the need for peaceful action to address the concerns of protesters, the importance of respect for the right to peaceful protest and for freedom of expression." It was "essential" that those injured were able to receive immediate medical treatment, he said. "We urge all sides to avoid violence and the police to exercise restraint and the Bahraini government should move quickly to carry out its commitment to a transparent investigation into earlier deaths and extend this to include today's events and any alleged human rights abuses."

12.17pm – Bahrain: Pictures have been posted (by maryamalkhawaja) of apparently injured ambulance drivers in Bahrain with bandaging around their heads.

There have been reports that health workers were attacked by the security forces.

12.11pm – Libya: Owen Bowcott writes:

The Associated Press in Cairo is reporting that up to 14 demonstrators have been killed in neighbouring Libya during the "day of rage" protests in several cities. Most of the deaths are said to have been in eastern coastal city of Beyida overnight. The opposition website Libya Al-Youm said four protesters were killed by snipers from the Internal Security Forces (see 11.07am). A video provided by one activist was said to show the scene in Zentana showed marchers chanting and holding a banner that read: "Down with Gaddafi. Down with the regime."

11.53am – Bahrain: BBC World is reporting that live rounds were used in Bahrain and that a man was shot in the back of his head.

There are some pictures of a man with his skull caved in being circulated on Twitter and Facebook – they are included in this gallery of pictures on Facebook posted by Mohd Ali. (Warning: these pictures are extremely graphic and disturbing.)

Al-Jazeera's Dan Nolan says the television station's correspondent in Bahrain saw this victim with their own eyes. Doctors apparently told the correspondent the damage was done with batons, although the pictures appear to suggest the damage was done by an exploding tear gas canister or something similar.

11.52am – Bahrain: Here is a gallery of the Bahrain protests.

11.38am – Egypt: Peter Beaumont reports on a shocking account from Amnesty International of torture by the Egyptian army during the last days of the Mubarak regime, one of a number the organisation has collected.

An 18-year-old secondary school student from Cairo told Amnesty that he was tortured after he was arrested at about 3pm on 3 February 2011 by soldiers near Tahrir Square: "I was walking with a friend towards the square when soldiers stopped us and asked for our IDs. They seemed to be suspicious of my friend, because he holds a UK residence permit. They took us to the museum area, which is controlled by the army and held us there in an outdoor area. After a while we were blindfolded and handcuffed and I could not

see what happened to my friend. I could only hear him screaming and believe he was severely beaten. I was only slapped in the face but not severely beaten while held at the museum. "That night we were transferred to another location about 30 minutes away from Tahrir Square. When we got out we had to lie down on the floor and were beaten. Then I was taken for interrogation where they insulted me and my family. They said things one should not say. They took off my handcuffs, because they ordered me to take off my clothes,

except my underwear, but I remained blindfolded. Then they handcuffed me again and tied my legs. They put a chain or rope to my legs and lifted me up, so that my head was hanging down. From time to time they would let me down into a barrel that was filled with water. They told me to confess that I was trained by Israel or by Iran. They also put

electric shocks to my body and I fainted. This continued for several hours. After the torture finished I was so exhausted that I slept for hours. "The next day I was taken in a group of about 30 people to another location, which – as I learned later – was Sign al-Harbi [a military prison at El Heiksteb, northeast of Cairo]. When we got out of the vehicle our blindfolds were taken off and soldiers started beating us with whips and truncheons. There are still scars on my back from the beatings. We were led to our cells where I soon fell asleep. They kept beating us, including when we went to the bathroom. The last days of my detention I refused to eat to protest against the treatment. Finally we were released. They left us on the road to Cairo and told

us to walk back." On 12 February the supreme military council announced that Egypt would abide by its international treaties. Egypt has been a party to the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment since 1987.

11.35am – Bahrain: Maryam Alkhawaja from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights tweets that "several Bahraini officers are being prosecuted for refusing to take part in violence against peaceful protesters".

Similar stories came out of Egypt during the crackdown on anti-government protesters there.

11.26am – Bahrain: My colleague Peter Beaumont explains a key difference between Bahrain's protests and those in Tunisia and Egypt: the sectarian context that underpins them.

Most Bahrainis – around 75% - belong to the Shia branch of Islam, while they have been ruled over since the 18th century by a royal family that is Sunni. Access to economic opportunities and services is also reflected in the island's geography. The capital Manama is largely Sunni, while the Shia population has been historically concentrated in the poorer rural areas where – according to some estimates – in some villages between one third and a half of the residents are unemployed. Shias also suspect that the government has long been engaged in a process of trying to alter Bahrain's sectarian demographics through the naturalisation of Sunni immigrants, which they have long charged is intended to produce a Sunni majority for the first time. Before 2002, when Bahrain introduced a parliament with limited powers, vocal Shia opposition and human rights campaigners faced the risk of arrest and torture. Although Shia hopes were raised when the main Shia opposition party, the Wifaq National Islamic Society, ended its boycott of parliament in 2006, elections last autumn saw a crackdown on the Shia opposition, with several hundred people arrested and detained. The pretext for that crackdown was the murder of a policeman. A second key difference is that protesters, by and large, are demanding not the removal of the king and the prime minister but political reforms that would turn Bahrain into a constitutional monarchy where the prime minister was elected not appointed by the king. Some now believe that in the aftermath of the crackdown at the Pearl roundabout, protesters demands will inevitably change. Among them is Edward Bell, an economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "Protesters' demands will shift to the removal of the government, particularly the prime minister, Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has held the post since 1971, following the harsh reactions of the security forces last night."

11.21am – Libya: My colleague Owen Bowcott sends the following:

Several hundred supporters of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, have gathered in the capital to oppose online calls for an anti-government "day or rage" inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. New York-based Human Rights Watch said Libyan authorities had detained 14 activists, writers and protesters who had been preparing the anti-government protests, and there were unconfirmed reports of two people killed in an eastern city. A Reuters reporter said the pro-government supporters had assembled in Tripoli's Green Square, next to the ancient medina, or old city. They chanted: "We are defending Gaddafi and the revolution!" and "The revolution continues!" In Libya, the military coup in 1969 which brought Gaddafi to power is referred to as the revolution. There was no sign of any anti-government protests.

11.18am – Libya: Footage has been posted of peaceful protests purportedly in Beyida/Al Bayda last night. This is significant because it is the city where an opposition website says four people were killed by security forces' snipers last night (see 9.29am). Al-Jazeera reports that the protesters burnt down the police station last night.

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11.16am – Bahrain: A very disturbing picture has been posted of a child said to be killed in Bahrain yesterday. The photo shows a wound that looks like it has been caused by a bird pellet shotgun. (Warning: this photo is very graphic and disturbing.)

11.07am: Here is a summary of key events so far:

• Bahrain: At least four people have been killed after Bahraini security forces raided a roundabout in the capital, Manama, where anti-government protesters had been demonstrating peacefully since Tuesday. Up to 300 were injured, according to the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights. Riot police attacked at around 3.15am local time firing teargas and wielding clubs and knives. Some protesters were apparently shot with pellets. Doctors and paramedics were among those attacked.

Sporadic clashes were reported in Manama this morning with young men throwing rocks at security forces and then retreating (see 8.05am). Tanks and armoured cars have been on the streets and police checkpoints set up in an attempt to prevent any further mass gatherings.

• Libya: Four people have been killed by government forces in the Libyan city of Beyida overnight, according to an unconfirmed report from the opposition website Libya Al-Youm. It says the protesters were shot by snipers from the internal security forces. There is a planned "day of rage" in the country today with protesters expected to amass in opposition to the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi. Pro-government demonstrations have been reported in the capital, Tripoli, but government opponents claim the demonstrations have been staged and people have been bussed in to take part.

• Yemen: Security forces have clashed with anti-government protesters in Yemen for a seventh consecutive day. Witnesses say government supporters wielding batons and daggers were also involved in fighting with protesters trying to move to downtown squares in Sana'a, the capital. Clashes have been reported in several other towns, including the port city of Aden.

• Iraq: Hundreds of Iraqi demonstrators massed in the southern city of Basra to demand the removal of the local governor, a day after a similar anti-government protest sparked violence that killed three people. About 600 people gathered in front of the Basra provincial headquarters, facing off against police protecting the building. With the exception of some pushing and shoving between protesters and police, witnesses said the protest was largely peaceful.

• Gaza: Israeli forces have killed three Palestinian men along the Gaza-Israel border, according to the Associated Press news agency. Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the bodies of the three had been picked up by medical teams. He said they were wearing civilian clothes and that the shooting happened before dawn.

10.54am – Bahrain: In the comments, goonerinoman, who works at a university in Bahrain, posts the following first-person description of Pearl roundabout this morning:

Today I should be celebrating Arsenal's fantastic win last night and reading all about it. Instead I have been driving around seeing what's going on here. My first port of call was the supermarket to buy some batteries for my camera. The supermarket was packed with people filling up. Normally there would be two or three people in the supermarket, today there was around a hundred, my joke about it looking like armageddon did not go down to well with the Aussie women in front of me. Everybody had trolleys filled with essentials. Salmaniya Medical Centre where I think some of the bodies were taken. It was very quiet I saw a handful of youths and the only thing that alerted me to there being something different was that one of them had a Bahraini flag draped around him. From there I drove down to the Pearl roundabout. I was surprised that the road was open, as I drove down on the other side of the carriageway there were bricks scattered all over the road. I saw a lot of broken glass and some heavily bloodstained areas. I got half way down the road and there was a police blockade maybe 100 armed police with rubber bullets and tear gas and machine guns. I went right and after some crazy driving and driving over some waste ground I arrived at the roundabout. It was surrounded by more police. There are bulldozers ripping up the tents and a huge clean-up operation. I did not see any tanks. There were a lot of cars smashed up and lots of debris on the ground. The tents that have survived are being ripped down and taken away. It is like the scene a day or two after the end of Glastonbury. There are lots of roadblocks. As I was leaving I saw eight ambulances being allowed through one of the blockades. I have no idea where they were going and it was impossible to follow. I do not know if there are clashes on the other side of the Pearl or in another part of Bahrain but it was eerily quiet around the roundabout. I said it would get messy I did not think this quickly. Tomorrow will be very interesting funerals and Friday prayers. Hold on to your hijabs.

10.50am – Bahrain: In the comments, SandyBh posts these videos of health workers demonstrating against the minister of health, who reportedly resigned after doctors and medical staff protested against the police's actions last night.

10.45am: Peter Beaumont reports on growing concern among female activists in Egypt, who were at the forefront of the movement to topple Hosni Mubarak, that they have been excluded from the constitutional committee set up by the military council to amend the country's constitution.

Already a group of 60 non-governmental organisations has accused the committee, which has been given 10 days to rewrite key articles including the lifting the 30-year long imposition of emergency law, of "an unacceptable marginalisation of half of society". Although the committee does include a delegate from the Muslim Brotherhood, in an unprecedented move in Egypt's recent political history, Egyptian activists are already beginning to question exactly how the committee was chosen and have expressed concern over its lack of accountability. The inclusion of women is a key test for the country's democracy movement because of their lack of inclusion in Egypt's political life under Mubarak. Indeed the first female judge to the constitutional court was only appointed by Mubarak in 2003. Concerns over the process of the rewriting of the constitution are reportedly ringing alarm bells in Washington, where officials have privately expressed concern over the slow progress of the military in revising key-Mubarak era laws, including the lifting of emergency law, which would be seen as proof that the military is in earnest about a

genuine transition to democracy.

10.43am: Mark Tran writes:

Remember William Hague's tour of the Middle East earlier this month, when he called for greater political openness? Bahrain was his final stop where the foreign secretary made these remarks: "We think it is a moment of opportunity in the Middle East, with calls for greater economic and political openness in some countries, and a renewed focus on the needs and aspirations of young people in the region. We believe it is important for there to be an effective response to the aspirations of the people of Egypt. I always stress that all the countries in the region are very different. Here, you have made many important political reforms alongside your growing economic success. We strongly welcome such steps. I know from my meetings today that Bahrain intends to build on these in the future." It doesn't seem that the reforms Hague spoke about were enough for the demonstrators.

10.42am – Bahrain: My colleagues on the Guardian video desk have sent this video of the police clearing the camp at Pearl roundabout.

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10.38am: We are looking for your first-person accounts of protests where you are.

Now you can record your own Audioboo voice recording and send it straight to us.

Click here to record an Audioboo.

Log in using your Audioboo or Twitter account.

If you don't have one, log in using these details:

Username: GuardianMEaudio

Password: GuardianMEaudio

Then click "start recording/upload file".

Once you have recorded your file, we will listen to it and post the most interesting ones on this blog.

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10.29am: Mark Tran reports that the British Foreign Office has updated its travel advisory for Bahrain, warning people to avoid travel around the island unless essential.

Demonstrations and sporadic outbreaks of violence are continuing across Bahrain and may continue in the coming days. Travel on the highways is severely restricted, and for the time being we are advising UK residents and UK travellers to Bahrain to avoid travelling around the island unless essential; to maintain a high level of security awareness particularly in public places and on major highways; and to avoid large gatherings, crowds and demonstrations.

10.24am: My colleague Peter Beaumont reports on the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights and its attempts to collate eyewitness reports from last night's attack on Pearl roundabout.

It appears that the police gathered on a bridge opposite the roundabout before the attack waiting for people not sleeping there to disperse and the remainder to fall asleep. The organisation reported that ambulance drivers, who had been prevented from reaching the injured, had also been stopped and attacked by state security forces trying to reach the roundabout. Following the pattern of what has happened elsewhere, journalists also appear to have been targeted, including ABC news's Miguel Marquez, who was caught in the crowd and beaten by men with wooden clubs. We also have two names now for two of the protesters who died last night. According to the Bahrain Youth Society they were Ali Khadeer, aged 52, and Mahmood Makki, aged 23.

10.23am: My colleague Mark Tran writes:

Nicolas Beau, a French blogger who specialises in Tunisia, reports that the former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has suffered a stroke. Beau, citing "reliable" sources in Tunisia, says Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia, was taken to a hospital in Jeddah reserved for Saudi princes under a false name for security reasons. It should be noted Hosni Mubarak, the deposed Egyptian president, was the subject of similar reports. At one point Mubarak was reported to be in a coma, so perhaps some caution is in order. Beau's sources in Tunis also say Ben Ali is in a coma.

10.14am – Bahrain: In the comments, SandyBh has posted this:

Salmaniya Hospital is besieged, and it is not easy to contact injured or protesters there, I am trying with no avail

This is where the hospital is.

10.11am – Libya: I have been sent this video on Facebook, purportedly showing clashes in Benghazi in Libya at 1am. On Twitter, ZahratTrablis describes what the video shows: "Security officers clashing with demonstrators on the streets. Second video tonight where civilians almost get run over by government cars."

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10.10am – Libya: There are reports in Libya of warnings being issued to people that protests will be met by lethal force

libyanfsl

Libyan regime sending SMS to citizens threatening them with live bullets if they continue to demonstrate #Feb17 #Libya

A twitpic has also been posted of a text (in Arabic) which purportedly warns people against protesting.

9.55am – Bahrain: There is a New York Times gallery by Andrea Bruce of the events in Pearl roundabout which contains some powerful (and graphic) images.

A video has been posted of angry scenes at the Salmaniya hospital as injured people arrive. Apparently the chant of the crowds, is "King Hamad, you are responsible".

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9.29am - Libya: Four protesters in the city of Beyida have been killed by government forces, according to a website opposed to the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Reuters reports.

Opposition website Libya Al-Youm says the protesters were slain by snipers from the internal security forces. It's not clear when the protesters were killed. There is a planned "day of rage" in Libya today.

9.09am - Bahrain: A paramedic confirms to al-Jazeera that he and his colleagues were prevented from treating the injured in the square. He said security forces mistook medical equipment for cameras.

A human rights campaigner reported the same issue earlier.

9.05am - Bahrain: More video has emerged of the police raid on Pearl roundabout.

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9.02am - Bahrain: There are unconfirmed reports that Bahrain's health minister has resigned.

8.55am - Egypt: Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has expressed concern that the Egyptian revolution is being derailed.

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8.50am - Bahrain: Martin Chulov has updated our story on the police raid:

At least four people have been killed in an early-morning raid by security forces on Pearl roundabout, the focal point of anti-government demonstrations in Bahrain, sparking street battles with riot police. Armoured trucks have been seen in central Manama and key roads are blocked by security forces. The crackdown follows a dramatic and violent turn in three days of protests calling for widespread reform within Bahrain's ruling minority. Dozens of wounded protesters were being taken to hospitals across the city on Thursday morning. Riot police stormed the rallying point for the demonstrations, a landmark known as Pearl roundabout, at around 3.15am, firing tear gas and wielding clubs and knives, which they used to cut through tents set up by demonstrators. "We were asleep and they started slicing through our tent," said Nabeel Ebrahim, who was sleeping alongside two trauma surgeons from Salmaniya hospital. "They started firing gas from the overpass and attacking us from all directions."

Transitional period key to New Egypt yet so far opaque and not inclusive. Concern Revolution is being derailed. Army needs to reach out. Mohamed ElBaradei

ElBaradei

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8.48am - Gaza: Israeli forces have killed three Palestinian men along the Gaza-Israel border, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya says the bodies of the three have been picked up by medical teams. He says they were wearing civilian clothes and that the shooting happened before dawn Thursday.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The military maintains a no-go zone inside Gaza along the border, where militants have planted bombs targeting Israeli forces in the past.

Gaza is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Bloodshed in the territory has decreased since Israel's military offensive in the territory just over two years ago, but rocket fire and border clashes have continued.

8.44am: The raid appears to have occurred during a prayer service according to this video.

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8.28am: Doctors and other medical staff began protesting after they saw the extent of the injuries, according to reports.

Photo journalist Mazen Mahdi has uploaded pictures of the protest.

There is also video of the doctors protesting here.

8.22am: Scores of tanks have been filmed moving into to the area around Pearl roundabout, according to this YouTube footage.

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8.05am: Medical officials now say four people were killed in the protests, according to AP.

A body covered in a white sheet lay in a pool of blood on the side of a road about 20 yards from the landmark square. Police cleared away the wrecked tents and the street was littered with broken glass, tear gas canisters and other debris. Mahmoud Mansouri, a protester, said police surrounded the camp and then quickly moved in. "We yelled, 'We are peaceful! Peaceful!' The women and children were attacked just like the rest of us," he said. "They moved in as soon as the media left us. They knew what they're doing." Dr Sadek Akikri, 44, said he was tending to sick protesters at a makeshift medical tent in the square when the police stormed in. He said he was tied up and severely beaten, then thrown on a bus with others. "They were beating me so hard I could no longer see. There was so much blood running from my head," he said. "I was yelling, 'I'm a doctor. I'm a doctor.' But they didn't stop."

He said the police beating him spoke Urdu, the main language of Pakistan. A pillar of the protest demands is to end the Sunni regime's practice of giving citizenship to other Sunnis from around the region to try to offset the demographic strength of Shiites. Many of the new Bahrainis are given security posts. Akikri said he and others on the bus were left on a highway overpass, but the beatings didn't stop. Eventually, the doctor said he fainted but could hear another police official say in Arabic: "Stop beating him. He's dead. We should just leave him here." Sporadic clashes between police and protesters continued in the morning, with demonstrators hurling rocks, then retreating. A group of young men broke up the pavement for more stones to throw. "They attacked our tents, beating us with batons," said Jafar Jafar, 17. "The police were lined up at the bridge overhead. They were shooting tear gas from the bridge." Many families were separated in the chaos. An Associated Press photographer saw police rounding up lost children and taking them into vehicles. Hussein Abbas, 22, was awakened by a missed call on his cell phone from his wife, presumably trying to warn him about reports that police were preparing to move in.

"Then all of a sudden the square was filled with tear gas clouds. Our women were screaming. ... What kind of ruler does this to his people? There were women and children with us!"

AP also reported clashes after the raid.

Sporadic clashes between police and protesters continued in the morning, with demonstrators hurling rocks, then retreating. A group of young men broke up the pavement for more stones to throw.

Al-Jazeera reports that one man was beaten to death.

7.41am: Mohammed Al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, said up to 300 people were wounded in the raid on the protesters.

"The protesters tried to run away but there were riot police everywhere," he told me. He said medics were attacked when they tried to reach injured people at the Pearl roundabout. "Still there are injured at the roundabout," he said.

One of the victims was beheaded, he said.

Al-Maskati added: "As a human rights observer what I saw happened was horrible, because the people were peacefully protesting. The government has broken the human rights standards, they have broken the diplomat standard, they have broken every law."

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7.20am: Three protesters were killed in the protests, Martin Chulov reports from the SMC hospital.

"The riot police came with clubs, knives, and they were firing bird shot, sound grenades, teargas, they were slicing through tents, they took away some demonstrators, they beat plenty of them. By all accounts it was a particularly savage assault, which took about an hour," he says.

(This is Matthew Weaver taking over from Richard Adams who has been blogging since last night. Thanks Richard.)

6.34am GMT - Bahrain: Emile Hokayem, a Middle East analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, lives near the Pearl roundabout – nicknamed Lulu roundabout by protesters – and he tweets: "I confirm 4 BDF tanks on lulu roundabout."

He also has this observation on the geopolitical implications.

6.22am GMT: There's a few complaints on blogs and Twitter about al-Jazeera's coverage of events in Bahrain. I can't speak for the Arabic channel's coverage but AJE has been excellent throughout the night.

6.18am GMT - Bahrain: There are many reports of the authorities preventing medical treatment for the injured from Pearl roundabout.

Btw - this is going to be a huge crisis for the US and there is no US ambassador in Bahrain. DCM is charge n pol section is good but no Amb Emile Hokayem

emile_hokayem

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6.03am GMT - Bahrain: AP sums up the latest scenes in Bahrain's capital as the military spread out:

Hours after police retook control of the plaza, the tiny island nation was in lockdown mode. Tanks and armoured personnel carriers were seen in some areas — the first sign of military involvement in the crisis. Police checkpoints were set up along main roadways and armed patrols moved through neighbourhoods in an apparent attempt to thwart any mass gatherings. Barbed wire was put up around Pearl Square and a message from the Interior Ministry declared the protest camp "illegal". The air still carried the smell of tear gas more than four hours after the assault.

ppl lying on the floor more than 1000 injured at pearl roundabout. police not allowing access to help them by ambulance angry arabiya

angryarabiya

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5.52am GMT - Bahrain: The leader of Bahrain's main Shia opposition group said the storming of the Pearl roundabout site where protesters had camped out overnight was "real terrorism."

"Whoever took the decision to attack the protest was aiming to kill," Abdul Jalil Khalil, a parliamentarian with the Wifaq bloc, told Reuters.

5.44am GMT - Bahrain: Just got off the phone with the Guardian's Martin Chulov in Manama. He followed the group of protesters intending to march back to Pearl roundabout but says they were stopped and turned back about two kilometres from the site by a mass of police firing birdshot and huge numbers of sound grenades.

With tanks also en route to the roundabout it seems the Bahraini authorities are taking no chances of allowing it to become a second Tahrir Square.

5.27am GMT - Bahrain: Reuters confirms the heavy military presence on the streets of Bahrain's capital, heading towards the site of the recent protests:

More than 50 armoured vehicles were seen travelling towards Pearl Square in central Manama on Thursday, shortly after Bahrain police cleared hundreds of protesters from the square in the early hours.

5.16am GMT - Bahrain: Tanks are seen on the streets of Bahrain. This photo shows what the photographer claimed was one of a group of 30 tanks heading to Tubli, southeast of Manama.

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5.10am GMT - Bahrain: I've just been speaking by phone to the Guardian's Martin Chulov at the SMC Hospital, Bahrain's largest, which he says is crowded with thousands of people who have gathered there since the police assault on Pearl roundabout:

Many of them were at the Pearl roundabout when the attack began shortly after 3.15am. The attack was coordinated from every direction, and the tent city they had set up was literally cut through with knives. The lead trauma surgeon at SMC hospital was tied up and assaulted, and he's now in intensive care at the hospital.

There was no official word on deaths or injuries so far, but hospitals in Bahrain have reported hundreds of people with serious gaping wounds, broken bones and breathing difficulties caused by heavy doses of tear gas.

Martin says there were remarkable scenes of angry protesters surrounding the hospital's fleet of ambulances, demanding that they to return to Pearl roundabout to help the injured:

There are at least 20 ambulances that were prevented from returning to the square by the security forces. They have just been forced to leave by the thousands here who have become angry at their refusal, especially a group of 300 to 400 nearly hysterical women pleading with them to return.

Now the ambulances have left many of the protesters have now set off on foot to also return to the Pearl roundabout – setting up a likely confrontation with the heavy police presence who have ringed the roundabout with vans.

4.38am GMT - Bahrain: I've just been speaking to Neil, a British research student in Islamic politics visiting Bahrain, who saw the prelude and aftermath of the police raid on the Pearl roundabout:

My hotel is about a three or four minute walk from the roundabout where the protesters where. I was on a flyover overlooking it with a Bahraini friend, about an hour before the police moved in. It was totally peacful, there were lots of families, lots of kids, people talking, a speaker saying how the protests weren't about Sunnis or Shias.

Neil said the atmosphere in the camp was very friendly as he chatted to protesters in Arabic: "As protests went it was incredibly fluffy."

Neil returned to his hotel and got a phone call afterwards from a friend at scene, saying that the police had arrived in force, with clouds of tear gas in the air. By the time he got hurried back to the Pearl roundabout the site had been emptied of protesters:

Now there was nothing there, the police had completely cleared the square. The riot police were dismantling all the infrastructure that the protesters had built up over the last few days, all the sound systems and ripping the pegs out of the big Bedouin tents, they were taking it all down. It happened very quickly and suddenly everyone was gone.

While he observing he caught the attention of two police:

While I was watching a couple of young cops, one of them with a tear gas gun, started hissing at me, to get my attention. I said to them that I was a foreigner, that'd I'd just come to watch, and that it was probably safer if I left.

In the carpark area behind his hotel Neil saw some of the protesters stumbling away from the area. "I saw guys quite dazed, stumbling around looking shocked. I spoke to one young guy who said the police had pushed them all out and he didn't what to do, he was looking quite bedraggled."

4.12am GMT - Bahrain: Bahrain's ministry of the interior announces on Twitter the "evacuation" of Pearl roundabout. Another ground-breaking use of social media.

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3.33am GMT - Bahrain: The Associated Press's Hadeel al-Shalchi has talked to protesters at the roundabout when the police assault began:

After the crackdown early Thursday, protesters who were camped in the square described police swarming in through a cloud of eye-stinging tear gas. "They attacked our tents, beating us with batons," said Jafar Jafar, 17. "The police were lined up at the bridge overhead. They were shooting tear gas from the bridge." Hussein Abbas, 22, was woken by a missed call from his wife, presumably trying to warn him about reports that police were preparing to move in. "Then all of a sudden the square was filled with tear gas clouds. Our women were screaming ... What kind of ruler does this to his people? There were women and children with us!"

Security forces evacuated protesters from Pearl roundabout Ministry of Interior

moi_bahrain

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3.06am GMT - Bahrain: ABC News journalist Miguel Marquez was beaten by Bahraini security forces near Pearl Square – while doing a report with his colleagues in New York by phone.

In audio recordings posted on ABC News's website you can hear Marquez being attacked while trying to talk to his assailants:

Marquez said he was not badly injured, but he was hit with billy clubs and his camera was pulled from his hands while he yelled, "Journalist, journalist!" – trying to show he was not a protester. "There was a canister that looked like – No! No! No! Hey! I'm a journalist here!" he yelled. "I'm going! I'm going! I'm going! I'm going!" he said. "I'm hit. I just got beat rather badly by a gang of thugs," Marquez said. "I'm now in a marketplace near our hotel where people are cowering in buildings." He paused. "I mean, these people are not screwing around," he added. "They're going to clear that square, tonight, ahead of any protest, on Friday. The government clearly does not want this to get any bigger."

2.58am GMT - Bahrain: An official response comes from the Bahraini government, with a statement by the ministry of the interior. It confirms that police have cleared Pearl Square "after trying full opportunities for dialogue":

Ministry of Interior spokesperson Brigadier Tariq Hassan Al Hassan has announced that security forces have cleared protesters from the area of Pearl Roundabout after trying all opportunities for a dialogue with them, to which some responded positively and left quietly. Others refused to obey the law which led to interference to make them leave, he said. He said that security forces had been keen on exercising self-control and on communicating with the protesters through public figures to end the sit-in peacefully, in order to ensure that law was followed within the institutions of state. But some protesters exploited the situation by introducing illegal practices and disturbing citizens and residents by erecting checkpoints in the area surrounding the roundabout and stopping vehicles and passersby. This was considered a major illegal practice which spread fear among the public and adversely affected commercial and economic activity. The spokesperson said the Ministry of Interior had received numerous complaints from the public regarding the massive personal inconvenience and economic losses they had been suffering. He said the protest in such an important area greatly affected national economy, trade, tourism and public interests and also caused traffic jams.

2.51am GMT - Bahrain: Reuters's Frederik Richter has some gripping detail on the assaults in Manama, which has now been cleared of protesters:

Bahraini police broke up a protest camp in a central Manama square on Thursday, killing at least two people, as they tried to end three days of demonstrations inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, witnesses and the opposition said. "Police are coming, they are shooting teargas at us," one demonstrator told Reuters by telephone. Another said: "I am wounded, I am bleeding. They are killing us." One protester said he had driven away two people who had been wounded by rubber bullets.

2.40am GMT - Bahrain: There are reports of a third death. An eyewitness tells al-Jazeera that he saw one dead body in a hospital in Manama riddled with what sounds like birdshot or buckshot.

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All the protesters interviewed insist that the police gave no warning of the assault on the square, and that many of the protesters were asleep, with the crowd including women and children.

2.25am GMT - Bahrain: The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights has posted the above photograph of the assault by police and security forces on Pearl Square in the early hours of the morning – note the heavy clouds of tear gas.

Here is some unconfirmed YouTube footage said to be taken during the assault.

Eye-witness says there was no warning before the attack, the roundabout was surrounded by police force to block ppl inside #Bahrain Bahrain Human Rights

BahrainRights

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2.02am GMT - Bahrain: The two people said to have died at Pearl square in Manama were a 23 year-old man and a 55 year-old man, according to al-Jazeera.

The opposition group al-Wifaq says the two men were killed when riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to drive out protesters from the roundabout.

1.51am GMT - Bahrain: The FT's Robin Wigglesworth and Simeon Kerr report from Manama on the morning raid on the protest camp at Pearl roundabout:

At least two protesters were killed as Bahrain police forcefully broke up an encampment of thousands of demonstrators demanding greater political freedom in the strategically important Gulf state. Police early on Thursday morning dispersed the largely Shia demonstrators who had since Tuesday sought to turn the Lulu roundabout in central Manama into the country's equivalent of Cairo's Tahrir Square and dubbed it 'Martyr's Square'. Witnesses said police beat the protesters who had built makeshift camps on the roundabout. An aerial view of the roundabout suggested police had retaken complete control of the area by 4am local time, with demonstrators dispersing throughout the capital.

1.43am GMT - Bahrain: Al-Jazeera is speaking to protesters at a hospital in Manama, with talk of two confirmed dead and many more injured following the police assault in the morning.

1.35am GMT - Bahrain: AP's Hadeel al-Shalchi has more details:

Riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets stormed a landmark square occupied by anti-government protesters Thursday, driving out demonstrators and destroying a makeshift encampment that had become the hub for demands for sweeping political changes in the kingdom. There was no immediate word on casualties or arrests during the pre-dawn assault on Pearl Square, which was filled with flattened tents and trampled banners. After police regained control of the square, they continued to chase protesters through sidestreets. The blow by authorities marked a dramatic shift in the protests. It appeared Bahrain's leaders sought to contain security forces after clashes Monday that left at least two people dead and brought sharp criticism from Western allies, including the US.

1.28am GMT - Bahrain: The Financial Times's Robin Wigglesworth is in a hotel overlooking Pearl square and is tweeting:

The air is heavy with teargas. A lot of it. People seem to have left Lulu totally now, but wonder what tomorrow will bring. Went down to #Lulu, place is cleared by police. When people regrouped and tried to return they were forced back by teargas and rubber shots

1.16am GMT - Bahrain: Tariq al-Olaimy tweets on his narrow escape from Pearl square – nicknamed Lulu by the protesters – as the police were moving in on the protesters camped there.

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1.03am - Bahrain: CNN's Nic Robertson appears to have been near the Pearl roundabout when the police made their move in a pre-dawn raid on the protesters there.

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12.56am GMT - Bahrain: The Associated Press is now reporting about the violent crackdown taking place in Manama:

Short video of riot police on the #Lulu flyover, just before they were about to attack http://twitvid.com/6WGAA #Bahrain #Feb14 Tariq Al-Olaimy

tariqal Riot police are using tear and clubs to try to regain control of a main square in Bahrain's capital occupied by anti-government protesters. Hundreds of security forces carrying truncheons and firing rubber bullets moved into Pearl Square before dawn on Thursday. There was no immediate word on casualties.

#Bahrain: 345 am protests peaceful until now but in last 15 mins, large number of police moving in, tear gas heavy in air Nic Robertson

NicRobertsonCNN

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12.39am GMT - Bahrain: More reports are coming in of the attacks by Bahrain security forces on protesters in Pearl Square on Manama.

Police appear to have started by firing rubber bullets and tear gas into the square at sometime around 3am, and then moved in towards the crowd.

There are numerous messages on Twitter and other social media of a large squad of police and security forces in the area. Earlier in the evening there were estimates of thousands of protesters camped on the roundabout, but numbers dwindled later in the night.