Riots erupt in Bahrain over activist arrests
The Associated PressPublished: January 26, 2009
MANAMA, Bahrain: Riots erupted across the tiny Persian Gulf monarchy of Bahrain on Monday following the arrest of three prominent Shiite activists.
Riot police fired tear gas at knots of youths hurling stones and burning car tires in protest over the early morning arrests.
There was no official count on the number of protesters, but the demonstrations erupted in Shiite villages across the small island kingdom, a close U.S.-ally and home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
Riots erupt in Bahrain over activist arrests
The Associated PressPublished: January 26, 2009
MANAMA, Bahrain: Riots erupted across the tiny Persian Gulf monarchy of Bahrain on Monday following the arrest of three prominent Shiite activists.
Riot police fired tear gas at knots of youths hurling stones and burning car tires in protest over the early morning arrests.
There was no official count on the number of protesters, but the demonstrations erupted in Shiite villages across the small island kingdom, a close U.S.-ally and home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
The demonstrations began in the morning soon after news filtered out over the arrest of Hasan Mushaima, head of the HAQ Movement for Liberty and Democracy; Abdul Jalil Sengace, the group’s spokesman; and Sheik Mohammed Habib al-Moqdad, a cleric who has repeatedly condemned the alleged discrimination against Bahrain’s majority Shiites.
The protests gained steam in the late afternoon and were continuing into the night, with few parts of the island unaffected. Traffic in many places was snarled by the demonstrations and riot police could be seen everywhere.
Bahrain has seen unrest as recently as last December when the country’s Shiites staged widespread protests, fueled in part by economic disparities between the predominantly Sunni ruling elite and the country’s poorer, Shiite majority.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/26/news/ML-Bahrain-Arrests.php