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Posts Tagged ‘Manama’

Hundreds shot in Bahrain as emergency declared

March 16, 2011 Comments off

AFP

MANAMA – At least 200 people were shot and wounded on Tuesday in a Shiite village south of the Bahraini capital, a medic said, and two people killed elsewhere, as the king imposed a state of emergency after bringing in foreign troops to help quell anti-regime protests.

As violence escalated, close ally the United States warned that there was “no military solution” to political upheaval in Bahrain and that any violence against peacefully expressed political demands “should be stopped.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Bahrainis must “take steps now” toward a political resolution of the crisis.

And top Bahraini Shiite clerics sought Muslim and international help as they warned that anti-regime protesters will be targeted with Read more…

Eyewitnesses: 30 tanks spotted en route to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia

March 2, 2011 Comments off
 

Photographed by Mohamed Elmeshad

Bahrain–Eyewitnesses have reported seeing an estimated 30 tanks being transported into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on Monday night at around 6:45pm local time. The tanks were sighted along the King Fahd causeway, which links the small island-nation of Bahrain to Saudi Arabia.

Commuters traveling along the 25-km causeway were held up due to the presence of “15 tank carriers carrying two tanks each heading towards Bahrain.” Civilian eyewitnesses could not, however, confirm whether the tanks belonged to the Saudi military.

The presence of Saudi military hardware in Bahrain is considered Read more…

As Arab world shakes, Iran’s influence grows

February 24, 2011 1 comment

Michael Slackman

New York Times

MANAMA, Bahrain — The popular revolts shaking the Arab world have begun to shift the balance of power in the region, bolstering Iran’s position while weakening and unnerving its rival, Saudi Arabia, regional experts said.

While it is far too soon to write the final chapter on the uprisings’ impact, Iran already has benefited from the ouster or undermining of Arab leaders who were its strong adversaries and has begun to project its growing influence, the analysts said. This week Iran sent two warships through the Suez Canal for the first time since its revolution in 1979, and Egypt’s new military leaders allowed them to pass.

Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally and a Sunni nation that jousts with Shiite Iran for regional influence, has been shaken. King Abdullah on Wednesday signaled his concern by announcing a $10 billion increase in welfare spending to help young people marry, buy homes and open businesses, a gesture seen as trying to head off the kind of unrest that fueled protests around Read more…

Soros team wants al-Qaida in government

February 18, 2011 Comments off

Told Algerian officials those supporting Islamic caliphate should be ’empowered’

By Aaron Klein
© 2011 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – An international “crisis management” group led by billionaire George Soros long has petitioned for the Algerian government to cease “excessive” military activities against al-Qaida-linked groups and to allow organizations seeking to create an Islamic state to participate in the Algerian government.

The organization, the International Crisis Group, also is tied strongly to the Egyptian opposition movement whose protests led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

Soros’ own Open Society Institute has funded opposition groups across the Middle East and North Africa, including organizations involved in the current chaos.

Following protests that led to the resignations of Mubarak and Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali – both key U.S. allies – Algeria similarly has been engulfed in anti-regime riots.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ruled the country with a tough hand. And he has been an Read more…

Video purporting to show the first minute of the attack on protesters in Manama, Bahrain

February 17, 2011 Comments off
Categories: Bahrain Tags: , ,

Riot police storm square in Bahrain

February 17, 2011 Comments off
Bahraini demonstrators stand by a damaged car after they managed to escape a police attack in Manama, Bahrain, early Thursday morning.
Bahraini demonstrators stand by a damaged car after they managed to escape a police attack in Manama, Bahrain, early Thursday morning.

Hassan Ammar/AP

Jesse McLean Staff Reporter

MANAMA—Riot police stormed a square occupied by anti-government protesters Thursday, driving them out with tear gas and rubber bullets and destroying a makeshift encampment that had become the demonstrators’ rallying point.

At least two people were killed in the pre-dawn assault on Pearl Square, the main opposition group Al Wefaq said. There was no official word on deaths or injuries.

After riot police regained control of the plaza, they chased protesters through sidestreets just as the dawn call for prayers rang out.

Protesters described police swarming in through a cloud of tear gas.

“They attacked our tents, beating us with batons,” Jafar Jafar, 17, told Associated Press. “The police were Read more…

Riots Break Out in Bahrain

February 15, 2011 2 comments
Bloomberg
By Glen Carey – Mon Feb 14 15:04:21 GMT 2011
Bahrain Deploys Police as Demonstrators Demand Freedom, Jobs

Police fired tear gas into a crowd of protesters in the Diraz area today. Photographer: -/AFP/Getty Images

Bahraini riot police were deployed to break up protests across the island nation as demonstrators, inspired by revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, demanded more political freedom and jobs.

Police fired tear gas into crowds in the areas of Diraz and Bani Jamrah. Earlier, residents of the Shiite Muslim village of Nuweidrat said clashes broke out between activists and police after morning prayers. Police were present on the outskirts of Nuweidrat, where Shiite flags adorned buildings along alleyways.

”We were starting our peaceful protests when riot police attacked us with tear gas,” Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, said in an interview after the protest in Bani Jamrah was dispersed. “We will continue Read more…