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Bahraini regime forces clamp down on anti-regime demos

A protester kicks a teargas canister fired by riot police during clashes in the village of Bilad al-Qadeem near Manama on February 13, 2015.

Bahrain’s Al Khalifah regime continues to clamp down on pro-democracy protesters ahead of the anniversary of a Saudi incursion into the Persian Gulf country.

On Friday, the regime forces launched another heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrators who had taken to the streets to voice their outrage against the invasion.

The angry demonstrators chanted slogans against the Saudi monarchy and demanded the immediate withdrawal of all Saudi Arabian forces from the country.

Several people were injured after the Al Khalifa forces fired teargas and birdshots to disperse the protesters in the northeastern village of Samaheej. Similar protests were also held elsewhere across Bahrain.

The nation-wide protests came a week before the fourth anniversary of the Saudi incursion into the neighboring country. 

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.

Bahrain's opposition has frequently said it considered any foreign military intervention to be an occupation. It has also called on the international community to act to ensure the protection of the people of Bahrain from the danger of foreign military intervention.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.

The regime’s crackdown on peaceful protests has been intensified over the past months since the arrest of top opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman last December. The demonstrators want authorities to release him and end years of repression in the country.

Amnesty International and several other human rights organizations have repeatedly called on Bahraini officials to observe the citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

JR/AS/MHB


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