Reporting from Manama, Bahrain
Police and soldiers firing tear gas and shotguns stormed a traffic circle occupied by pro-democracy protesters Wednesday in a fierce crackdown aimed at ending the standoff that has paralyzed this tiny island and preserving the monarchy's rule.The operation, which began a little after dawn, succeeded in clearing the circle in little over an hour as protesters armed only with sticks and rocks fled the assault. At least three people were reported killed, including two demonstrators. Dozens more were injured, some of them peppered with buckshot fired by riot police brandishing shotguns.
Witnesses said the security forces initially took control of an overpass and began firing tear gas down on the tent city below where the protesters were gathered. Demonstrators who tried to resist were pushed down an embankment into the circle and police followed, occasionally firing shotguns.
"I was facing them, but they shot me and when I turned they shot me again in the back," said Nabil Hassan Ali, whose face and torso had multiple small bloody wounds where he said the metal pellets had struck him.
In Washington, the Obama administration criticized the "excessive force and violence" used against the demonstrators and said it had raised its complaint directly with Bahraini officials.
The State Department sought to dispel criticism that it has sided with the Bahraini government, saying in a tweet that the U.S. "has been clear in public and private that we support peaceful political process that meets aspirations of all."
The government move to retake control of the square had been expected after troops from Saudi Arabia and police from the United Arab Emirates entered Bahrain early this week at the invitation of the Sunni Muslim-dominated government and King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa declared martial law on Tuesday.
But the harshness of the action infuriated many of the protesters and raised the prospect that it would only intensify sectarian strife and demands for the overthrow of the monarchy. Shiite Muslims, who form a majority of Bahrain's 600,000 people, have spearheaded weeks of protest against the Sunni-dominated government over their longstanding complaints that they are denied access to services, jobs and property.
"This shows that they are weak and afraid," said Ali Mirza Marhoon, a Shiite protester, referring to the royal family. "They cannot prevent the people from demanding their freedom."
For several hours, attack helicopters circled and plumes of smoke rose above Pearl roundabout, the traffic circle that has become the hub for Bahrain's protests, as the tent city established there over the last month burned and police and soldiers in tanks and armored vehicles took control of major intersections in the area.
As protesters rushed casualties to hospitals surrounding the circle, security forces turned them away or fired on vehicles carrying the wounded, according to several witnesses.
Ali Haji, a protester, said police had fired on his vehicle as he drove up to the gate at the International Hospital of Bahrain, pointing to the smashed window of his green car. Dr. Hassan Moktar, a physician at the hospital, said a window in the lobby of the facility had been shot out. He said the hospital had treated around 50 patients from the square.
In addition, there were multiple reports that security forces and gangs of young Sunni men were clashing with Shiite protesters in neighborhoods and villages outside of Manama, the capital.
One opposition member of parliament called it a "war of annihilation" against Shiites.
By late afternoon, the tents, shacks, cooking facilities and large stage built by the protesters in Pearl Circle over the last month had been mostly removed, television footage showed, though the area remained strewn with garbage.
Bahrain's crown prince, Sheik Salman ibn Hamed Khalifa, had been trying to defuse the crisis by offering talks to the opposition but was rebuffed by many protesters. They have called for the royal family to accede to a constitutional monarchy, to share power with the Shiite community and, among the most hard-line opponents, for elimination of the monarchy.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denounced Bahrain's action against the protesters. He called the crackdown "unjustifiable and incomprehensible" and blamed the U.S. for backing Bahrain's leaders, IRNA news agency reported.
"How can those who use weapons against their people want to govern them?" he told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Tehran, he said, though Iran carried out its own crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in 2009.
The crackdown by Bahrain may cause a quandary for the U.S., one of Bahrain's closest allies. After the arrival of Saudi troops Monday, the White House called on Bahrain to act with restraint against protesters. The island kingdom's decision to ignore that call is likely to put pressure on the U.S. to at least rhetorically rebuke Bahrain, which could strain ties between the longtime allies.
Bahrain is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, and the U.S. has long made clear that its main desire is to see stability in the tiny kingdom. If the crackdown Wednesday exacerbates tensions in the kingdom, rather than suppressing them, Washington will have even more reason to fear the Shiite demands for more political power.
Dozens of men and women who had been in the circle earlier in the day took refuge in a mosque a few blocks away in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Senabis.
Many said they feared the security services would push farther into the neighborhood, but for the most part the troops remained in main roads and stayed out of residential streets. Overhead a U.S.-designed Cobra attack helicopter circled above the densely packed houses.
The mosque had been turned into a makeshift aid station. Several wounded men lay on the floor, including Abdullah Alshar, who said he had not been in the circle but had come out of his house after hearing the commotion. He was hit by gunfire during the melee.
"I tried to run away but was hit and fell down," he said, lying with an intravenous tube in his arm. His back and arms were peppered with small, bloody wounds.
Hussein Muhammed Ali said he had transported several wounded men from the mosque to hospitals in his black GMC suburban. Traces of blood were visible in the back seat.
At the Jidhafs Medical Center, Dr. Howaida Ali Mahdi said six or seven patients had serious injuries, including bleeding wounds, fractures and other injuries. But when she requested an ambulance to take the patients to better-equipped facilities, there was no response, she said.
david.cloud@latimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment