23 Dec 2007, 0532 hrs IST,AP
MANAMA (BAHRAIN): Bahraini security forces conducted a second day of sweeps through Shiite villages on Saturday, arresting those involved in protests over the past several days, said witnesses and opposition groups.
Large numbers of riot police could be seen around the northern villages where protests erupted on Thursday, sparked by the death of a protester earlier in the week. Police also set up numerous security checkpoints throughout the small island kingdom.
23 Dec 2007, 0532 hrs IST,AP
MANAMA (BAHRAIN): Bahraini security forces conducted a second day of sweeps through Shiite villages on Saturday, arresting those involved in protests over the past several days, said witnesses and opposition groups.
Large numbers of riot police could be seen around the northern villages where protests erupted on Thursday, sparked by the death of a protester earlier in the week. Police also set up numerous security checkpoints throughout the small island kingdom.
“Sanabis village is now under siege for the fourth night with more than eight checkpoints blocking the entrance,” said Abdul-Jalil Khalil, a parliamentarian with the Shiite opposition Wefaq bloc.
“I saw drivers harshly beaten after being forced out of their cars on the pretext police were looking for suspects,” he added.
The Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy, another opposition group, issued a statement that at least 26 people had been detained, three of which had to be hospitalized after being abused by police.
An Interior Ministry official confirmed that security forces had conducted arrests but would not comment on how many people had been detained. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, also confirmed that checkpoints had been set up in areas that had witnessed unrest.