Four dead, 60 missing in Bahrain

17 February, 2011 14:24

At least four protesters have been killed and about 60 gone missing after Bahraini security forces storm a protest camp in capital Manama.Bahraini police broke up a protest camp in Pearl Square in downtown Manama on Thursday and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters, bahraini News agence’s correspondent quoted an unnamed opposition lawmaker as saying.

Bahraini protesters have renamed the square as Tahrir Square, after a square with a similar name in Egypt, which became the center of pro-democracy protests.

Four people were killed during the clashes, bringing to seven the total number of those killed since the protests began on Monday.

Armored vehicles could be seen rumbling through the capital as the government tries to quell the protests inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.

Bahrain’s army has said it will take all necessary measures to ensure security and called on people to avoid going to central areas of Manama.

The magnitude of the pro-democracy protests in Bahrain is unprecedented in the history of the Persian Gulf kingdom and the authorities’ efforts to quell them have so far been ineffective.

The demonstrators are demanding a new constitution that would move the country toward democracy and limit the king’s powers.Bahrain is ruled by a royal family, who are blamed for discrimination against the country’s Shia population — comprising 70 percent of the population.

Protesters have also called on the Bahraini king to fire his uncle, Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has been the country’s prime minister since 1971.

Bahraini health minster steps down

Bahraini Health Minister Faisal Al Hamer has resigned from his post following the growing tensions resulted from the pro-democracy uprising in the country.

Al Hamer’s resignation comes following the security forces attacks on the medical workers who are helping the victims of the unrests, Shiite News reported.

On Thursday, tanks in the Bahraini capital, Manama, prevent ambulances from taking the victims of clashes to hospitals, as the pro-democracy uprising in the country has entered its fourth day, a report says.

Pro-democracy uprising in Bahrain has entered its fourth day, as protesters, inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, have taken to the streets to protest against the government’s dictatorial policies.

More than a dozen army tanks and several military ambulances and trucks are seen in a main highway in the central Manama.

According to witnesses, the nearby roads have almost been cleared of civilian traffic.

Security forces have also put up barbed wire around Pearl Square.

On Thursday, security forces raided the protesters camped out in Pearl Square in central Manama and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the people to disperse them, Reuters reported.

Four people were killed in the incident, raising the number of the deaths to seven since Monday.

At least 2,000 protesters were occupying the Pearl Square on Wednesday, calling for a new constitution and an elected prime minister.

On Wednesday, Bahraini authorities said that they would seek to restore calm in the streets on Thursday, after days of protests inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and intensified by the deaths of two protesters in 24 hours.

The magnitude of the pro-democracy protests in Bahrain is unprecedented in the history of the kingdom and the authorities’ efforts to quell them have so far been ineffective.

The demonstrators are demanding a new constitution that would move the country toward democracy and limit the king’s powers.

Bahrain is ruled by a royal family, who are blamed for discrimination against the country’s Shia population — comprising 70 percent of the population.Protesters have called on the Bahraini to fire his uncle, Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has been the country’s prime minister since 1971.

The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is based in the kingdom of Bahrain.

Tanks in Bahrain block ambulances

Tanks in the Bahraini capital, Manama, prevent ambulances from taking the victims of clashes to hospitals, as the pro-democracy uprising in the country has entered its fourth day, a report says.

The report also added that Bahraini security forces attack and beat medical workers who are helping the victims on Thursday.