Tuesday, March 15, 2011

'Brutal attacks' alleged in Bahrain


Saudi soldiers are shooting down Bahraini protesters. The streets are littered with bodies of dead and wounded.
One witness says they are going into town and shooting any one they see. If they don't find people on the street they go into the houses and kill them.
 






The king of Bahrain has declared a state of emergency across the country
for three months. Local police are now being backed up by 1,000 Saudi troops,
who entered the country on Monday following weeks of political unrest.

Among those wounded in violent protests are undercover police found in

the Shia areas of Bahrain, where hospital staffers are overwhelmed by the
influx of the injured.

Al Jazeera's correspondent sent this report from a hospital in the capital, Manama.


Bahrain king declares state of emergency after protests





The king of Bahrain has declared a state of emergency, due to start immediately
and which will last for three months, state TV has reported.

The announcement follows weeks of unrest in the kingdom.


The nation's armed forces chief has been authorized to take all measures to

"protect the safety of the country and its citizens", says the statement from the king.

On Monday, forces from Gulf countries arrived to bolster the regime.


Some 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and a further 500 from the United

Arab Emirates deployed in Manama at the invitation of the government.

It is believed they are intended to guard key facilities such as oil and gas

installations and financial institutions.

The US State Department has urged its citizens to avoid traveling to the

country due to the ongoing unrest.

Barricades


Protesters have blocked all roads leading to the capital's financial center, the


Protesters have tried to barricade roads to prevent riot police from entering

scene of clashes on Sunday.

The protesters are demanding widespread political reforms in the kingdom.

Bahrain's Shia Muslim majority has long complained of discrimination and
dominance by the Sunni minority, including the ruling royal family.

Iran - the main Shia power in the Gulf - has denounced the use of troops from

neighboring Gulf states in Bahrain as "unacceptable".

"The presence of foreign forces and interference in Bahrain's internal affairs is

unacceptable and will further complicate the issue," said Foreign Ministry
spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast.

In the financial district, demonstrators have built barricades from upturned rubbish

bins, says the BBC's Caroline Hawley in Manama, and many are wearing masks to
protect themselves from tear gas.

The Shia-led opposition has said that the arrival of Gulf states troops - the first

time that any Arab government has called for outside military help during the
current wave of protests sweeping the region - is tantamount to a declaration of war.

The troops are part of a deployment by the Gulf Co-operation Council, a six-nation

regional grouping which includes Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and
the United Arab Emirates.





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