The BBC’s Owen Bennett-Jones reports from neighbouring Lebanon that Syrian authorities are using a combination of force and concessions to try to prevent further protests.

The government says it has released 15 children arrested for spraying revolutionary slogans on walls in Deraa, and it has announced a three-month reduction in the length of compulsory military service across the country.

The official news agency has tried to explain the security forces’ use of live ammunition by saying that instigators impersonating security officials have misled the police into using violence and live bullets.