MANAMA – Bahraini forces backed by helicopters launched a crackdown on protesters Wednesday, imposing a curfew and clearing hundreds from a camp that had become the symbol of an uprising by the Shia majority.
Hospital sources said three policemen and at least two protesters were killed in the assault that began a day after Bahrain declared martial law to quell sectarian unrest that has sucked in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled neighbour Saudi Arabia. A defiant youth movement, which had been leading protests at the Pearl roundabout, called for a mass demonstration from all Manama suburbs to Budaya Street in the north of the capital.
Minutes after the call was made, a military official appeared on Bahrain’s state television to ban all marches and gatherings and impose a curfew from 4pm to 4am across a large swathe of Manama. A Reuters witness saw Bahraini tanks and armoured vehicles move in the direction of Budaya Street. A member of parliament from the largest Shia opposition group denounced the government assault as a declaration of war on the Shia community.
“This is war of annihilation. This does not happen even in wars and this is not acceptable,” Abdel Jalil Khalil, the head of Wefaq’s 18-member parliament bloc, said. “I saw them fire live rounds, in front of my own eyes.” He said at least five people had been killed by security forces who fanned out across the capital. There was no independent confirmation as riot police surrounded several hospitals and checkpoints made movements difficult.
The US, a close ally of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, has called for restraint in the island kingdom, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. It sent US Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman to Bahrain to push for talks to resolve the crisis. Over 60 percent of Bahrainis are Shias and they complain of discrimination at the hands of the Sunni royal family, the al-Khalifa.
Most Shias want a constitutional monarchy but calls by some hardliners for the overthrow of the monarchy have alarmed the Sunni minority, which fears that unrest could serve non-Arab Shia power Iran. Gulf Arab ruling families are Sunni and analysts say the intervention of their forces in Bahrain might provoke a response from Iran, which supports Shia groups in Iraq and Lebanon. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Bahrain’s crackdown was unjustifiable and irreparable.
“Today, we witness the degree of pressure imposed on the majority of people in Bahrain,” he said according to state TV. “What has happened is bad, unjustifiable and irreparable.” Helicopters flew overhead and riot police fired teargas as they advanced from about 7am on the Pearl roundabout, focal point of weeks of protests. Youths hurled petrol bombs at police near the roundabout and scattered as new rounds of teargas hit.
The area was cleared within about two hours but protesters knocked down two police in their cars as they fled. Wearing semi-automatic rifles and black face masks, Bahraini troops also blocked off several streets including the main road to the Shia area of Sitra. Tanks guarded key intersections and the entrances to some areas. Streets were deserted, shops were closed and people queued at cash machines.
“There are shots near and far. It’s not only shooting in the air, it’s urban warfare,” said a resident who lives near the Budaya Highway in the northwest of Bahrain, adding that forces had cut off three bridges linking Bahrain’s airport, on Muharraq island, to the main island. Riot police blocked access to Manama’s Salmaniya hospital, where many civilian casualties had previously been treated, and witnesses said access to other health centres was also blocked.
It did not appear that Gulf Arab forces invited in by the govt for support were involved in the operation. The crackdown by Bahrain’s Sunni-led govt against Shia protesters has galvanised Iraq’s own Shia community, exacerbating sectarian tension that led to years of war in Iraq.
