— Bahraini troops fired live ammunition and tear gas Friday at
thousands of peaceful protesters in the capital’s main square, causing
dozens of casualties.
People carrying men, women and children — some bleeding from bullet wounds, others overcome by tear gas — crowded into
Thousands of demonstrators, who are demanding that a democratic system replace
“We are peaceful. We don’t even have a rock,” cried
Mohammad, a 26-year-old laborer, as the throng shouted, “The victory is
from Allah and it will be with us” and “Down, down, Khalifa” and “Tell
the world. Tell the world. We are peaceful.”
The bloodshed marked a major escalation in the crisis, which began Monday in
The violence erupted Friday after the funerals of
four protesters who were killed a day earlier in a predawn onslaught by
Bahraini security forces against thousands of sleeping anti-government
protesters occupying
The funerals turned into new demonstrations against the monarchy. Thousands marched to
where they found soldiers, tanks and armored personnel carriers. As
many knelt to pray, the troops began firing live ammunition and tear
gas, igniting stampedes into nearby streets.
Many of the soldiers are recruited from other countries in the region.
“They are 100 percent Saudis,” Mohammad, the laborer, said of the soldiers in the square.
Casualties streamed into the medical center even as the medical staff was staging its own protest against the monarchy.
Chaos ensued. Doctors and nurses struggled to treat
the wounded, who were being rolled in on gurneys. Others held hands to
form a human chain at the hospital’s entrance to prevent police from
entering.
“This is a massacre,” said a nurse who gave her name only as Haitham.
An elderly man with blood on his hands said he’d been cradling a protester who died from a bullet wound to his head.
According to a hospital logbook, at least 16 people
were admitted for wounds, and more were arriving as the evening
progressed. Some people said that troops had closed off
In the medical facility, staff members shouted for
donations of blood, which was running short. Outside, people passed out
food and water, while hospital workers held up cardboard signs showing
what blood types were needed.
There also were reports of clashes in other parts of
It’s the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet, whose mission is to ensure
free passage for oil tankers through the gulf and to neutralize the
threat posed by
In attacking peaceful protesters,
Clinton, who telephoned her Bahraini counterpart Thursday, later said, “
is a friend and an ally, and has been for many years. And while all
governments have a responsibility to provide citizens with security and
stability, we call (for) restraint.”
Some 70 percent of
The government has sought to blame foreign agents for the turmoil, a reference to
the world’s largest Shiite nation. The demonstrators, mostly young
people, have included members of both Islamic sects, and they say that
theirs is not a religious movement.
Moreover, U.S. diplomats in
“Bahraini government officials sometimes privately tell U.S. official visitors that some Shi’a oppositionists are backed by
Each time this claim is raised, we ask the (government) to share its
evidence. To date, we have seen no convincing evidence of Iranian
weapons or government money here since at least the mid-1990s,” the
cable says. “In post’s (the
assessment, if the (Bahraini government) had convincing evidence of
more recent Iranian subversion, it would quickly share it with us.”
———
(c) 2011, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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