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Old 03-15-2011, 15:16   #1
akv
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Bahrain declares state of emergency

This sounds a lot like martial law, I guess we will see if Saudi forces are used to confront the uprising, or just protect the royal family.

Quote:
latimes.com

Bahrain declares state of emergency

The move by King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa to quell a growing uprising is akin to three months of martial law for Bahrain. With hundreds of foreign military and police in the nation to support the government, protesters and their foes set up rival checkpoints.

By David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times
8:18 AM PDT, March 15, 2011

Reporting from Manama, Bahrain


Bahrain's king declared a three-month state of emergency Tuesday in an effort to quell a month-old uprising as rival groups of protesters and gangs set up more checkpoints around the capital.

The move by King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa appeared to amount to a declaration of martial law the day after hundreds of troops and police from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates poured into Bahrain with the support of the government after worsening violence paralyzed Manama, the capital, in recent days.

An announcement by Bahrain's official news agency said the king had declared the state of emergency "in light of the latest security escalations" and had delegated to the commander in chief of Bahrain's military "the necessary measures in order to implement the decree."

Few military units, either from Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, were visible around Manama on Tuesday, but the Associated Press reported that a Saudi sergeant had been shot and killed by a protester, according to Saudi security official. The report could not be immediately confirmed.

Bahrain has been shaken by weeks of protests as the nation's Shiite Muslim majority has taken to the streets to complain of unfair treatment at the hands of the Sunni-dominated government.

In neighborhoods populated largely by Sunnis, young men carrying sticks and metal rods, many with their faces covered, blocked roads and examined cars. At several checkpoints, the gangs stood next to Interior Ministry security forces and said they were guarding their neighborhoods against Shiites.

"We are defending our homes from the Shia people," said one young man carrying a wooden club, who declined to give his name. He and several associates had blocked a road in the suburb of Riffa, a largely Sunni neighborhood where several palaces used by the ruling family are located.

Nearby, a Ministry of Interior police officer sat inside his truck near the checkpoint.

Near Pearl roundabout, the traffic circle occupied by Shiite demonstrators since last month, protesters had established their own barricades. Most cars were being allowed to pass. Several young men said they were prepared to block police or military units from entering the area, though no security forces were visible on the streets.
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bahrain-emergency-20110316,0,5199319.story
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Old 03-15-2011, 16:01   #2
mark46th
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Maybe a Sunni-Shia war...
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Old 03-20-2011, 13:49   #3
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...b4a4cd9231487b

Bahrain opposition seeks UN, US help in crackdown

(AP) – 6 hours ago
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain's opposition asked for U.N. and American intervention in the government crackdown on the Shiite protests trying to loosen the monarchy's grip, in a brief protest Sunday in the capital that disbanded before police could arrive to break it up....

Opposition leaders said they will continue with peaceful resistance to what they say is political oppression and economic inequality. They will also continue demanding an elected government and equal rights for the island nation's majority Shiite community, which they say suffers discrimination under Sunni rule.

Shiites are about 70 percent of Bahrain's population of half a million....
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Old 03-21-2011, 00:08   #4
Airbornelawyer
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It is ethnic as well as sectarian. Shiites are discriminated against and distrusted (and, to be fair, Iran has long attempted to infiltrate the Shia Arab communities on the other side of the Persian Gulf, so the king has some reaspn to distrust them), so despite constituting 70% of the population, they are a small minority of the security forces. But since there aren't enough Sunni Arab Bahrainis to man the 20,000-strong security forces (12,000 or so in the Bahrain Defence Force, the rest interior ministry forces and national guard), Bahrain has recruited lots of foreigners. One report I saw claimed that Pakistanis, Jordanians and Yemenis comprise at least half of the security forces strength.

The Bahrain National Guard seems especially to be a Pakistani mercenary force and there are several recent reports of it being expanded. Attached is a recent (Feb 2011) recruiting ad from Pakistan for the BNG.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg BNG recruiting ad.jpg (81.7 KB, 16 views)
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