THE GUARDIAN: Government-backed security forces clash with Shia demonstrators in the capital city, ManamaThe sectarian standoff between Bahrain's Shia majority and its Sunni elite deteriorated further on Tuesday when the king declared martial law and security forces clashed violently with protesters throughout the capital, Manama.
At least two people were killed in fighting between the civilian protesters and government-backed security forces that included Saudi soldiers invited into the kingdom on Sunday.
Hospitals were again teeming with wounded demonstrators in scenes reminiscent of earlier clashes in February, that severely tested the legitimacy of the US-backed government.
Soldiers were active in numerous areas that had been flashpoints in past clashes. Doctors and medical staff reported that troops had taken over a medical centre in the Sitra area and, in some cases, prevented them from tending to casualties. Doctors in the medical centre claimed they were being prevented from leaving by troops stationed outside.
"They are shooting at us, they are shooting," one doctor told the Guardian. "Get help, get the international community to help."
Up to 200 people were reported to have been treated at some point during the day, which is being seen as the start of a new phase in the increasingly bitter clashes that are steadily gaining a regional dimension in the Gulf.
Bahrain withdrew its ambassador to Tehran in protest at a warning from the Iranian foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, to the kingdom not to harm demonstrators, almost all of whom are Shias. Meanwhile, the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia said they felt obliged to intervene, claiming that continuing unrest in Bahrain could threaten them. » | Martin Chulow | Tuesday, March 15, 2011
