Thursday, 17 February 2011

Live Blog - Bahrain

By Al Jazeera Staff in on February 16th, 2011.

From our headquarters in Doha, we keep you updated with reports from our staff across the country and further afield.

AJE Live Stream - Bahrain protests continue overnight - Country profile: Bahrain

(All times are local in Bahrain, GMT+3)

17 February 2011

12:13pm The Bahrain minister of health has reportedly resigned from his post in protest over police crackdown, this claim has been denied by the health ministry.

11:09am Armoured vehicles move towards central Manama after police storm protest site in roundabout, killing at least three.

9:15am For more updates from Bahrain you can follow this list compiled by Twitter user : @

9:10am AJE correspondent in Bahrain has said that armoured vehicles can be seen heading towards Bahrain Pearl roundabout.

"some protesters claim two deaths, others three. but dozens are seriously injured

"The Pearl Roundabout is no longer the focal point, now that it is cleared.

"Clashes are now sporadic, not limited to one place, and [they] are spread out in different parts of the city," he said.

File 8091

8:55am Bahrain's main Shia opposition bloc says storming of central square by Police was 'real terrorism', the move was aimed to kill, according to Reuters news agency.

File 8061[AFP]

8:25am Reuters news agency has reported that more than 50 armoured vehicles heading towards Bahrain pearl square in Central Manama.

7:32am At least two pro-reform protesters were killed and dozens were injured as hundreds of Bahraini riot police, armed with tear gas, rubber bullets and clubs stormed the main square in the capital as protesters slept.

A video was posted on YouTube by alibh1 showing the attack. Al Jazeera can't verify the authencity of the video.


7.21am The Bahraini Ministry of Interior issued this statement on breaking up pearl roundabout sit-in.

The Ministry of Interior’s spokesperson, Brigadier Tariq Hassan Al Hassan, announced that security forces evacuated the area of pearl roundabout from protesters, after trying all opportunities for dialogue with them, in which some positively responded and left quietly. Others refused to obey the law and that led to interference to make them leave."

Read the full statement here.

5.09am Social networks are a-buzz with news of the attcaks on protesters in Manama. Here are some tweets from the micro-blogging site Twitter

@nehayoo

Protesters are chanting: is this reforming? Attacking at 3 am?

@alialsaeed

seeing pictures of those killed. i'm crying. i'm crying. blood & tears shed. #Feb14 #Bahrain god save us

@ulil

No one expected, the next revolution would break out in Bahrain. Now, see what's brewing there! Amazing.

4.53am Sources confirm to Al Jazeera that two people have died in the attack on pro-reform demonstrators on Thursday morning. Scores more are injured and are being rushed to a hospital in the capital. A source at the hospital tells Al Jazeera that around 40 injured people have just arrived there.

4.49am An Al Jazeera journalist in Manama reports:

Riot police have set up positions along roads leading into Lulu, and they don't appear to be letting any cars travel towards the square. As security forces break up the protesters currently in the center of the action, police are trying to ensure that the demonstrators' ranks will not swell any further. Helicopters continue flying overhead, and the crackdown could continue for hours.

4.25am Sources tell Al Jazeera that at least one person was killed in the attack on protesters by Bahraini police. A member of the political opposition confirmed that women and children were among those attacked.

410am Maryama Alkawaka of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights was at Pearl roundabout when police attempted to break up the protest. She said police began shooting at sleeping protesters from the bridge above the roundabout.

She added:

It was very violent, [the police] were not showing any mercy.

This photo by AFP shows demonstrators sleeping at Pearl roundabout before the attack on Thursday.

File 8026

4.03am Al Jazeera's correspondent in the capital Manama said there was a lot of tear gas being fired at the protesters. "I am several miles away but i can feel the tear gas," he said, adding:

The police came very quickly in huge numbers... they have been using tear gas, been using rubber bullets... and been using jeeps to round-up people.

Abdul Elah, a pro-reform demonstrator who was injured in the attack spoke to Al Jazeera by telephone, saying:

We were sitting there.. peacefully sitting in the square, most of us sleeping.. suddenly the police came surrounding us from everywhere, thousands, shooting us with tear gas, and rubber guns

4.00am A citizen journalist in Manama submitted this footage of police rushing towards Pearl roundabout:

3.30am Police in Manama have used teargas to disperse protesters camped out in the capital, witnesses told the Reuters news agency. "Police are coming, they are shooting teargas at us," one demonstrator said.

Our journalist in Manama said:

I see lots of police cars visible from my hotel window. I can hear choppers flying around, and also hear constant booms, which may be the sound of tear-gas canisters being shot..."

3.20am Our jounalist on-the-ground in Manama tried to access the Live video feed of Pearl roundabout, but the site is blocked in Bahrain. This is the message that gets displayed instead:

File 8006

2.30am An Al Jazeera journalist on-the-ground in Bahrain's capital Manama said:

Driving along King Faisal Highway, one could see on the south side of the street above Pearl roundabout more than two dozen cars pulled over with people camping out for the night waving signs and flags

1.20am A Live camera feed from Bahrain's Pearl roundabout has been set-up online, Twitter user @HelpBahrain tweeted.The footage can be viewed here.

File 7986

1.10am Al Jazeera's correspondent, reporting from Bahrain, said that protesters are standing firm at Pearl roundabout, and they plan to make the site into their own version of Tahrir Square, which was the epicentre of Egypt's revolution.

Our correspondent said the mood at the Roundabout was celebratory but defiant. He added:

What [the protesters] were saying and what they were chanting, I think some here would describe as treasonous. Because the main chant repeated by the large crowd was 'Down with the Khalifa's' ... the al Khalifa royal family have run this country for over 200 years.

Our correspondent sent in this report:

1.05am There are reports on social media that the internet has been slowed in Bahrain.

New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof just tweeted this:

Why slow the Internet? The #Bahrain govt view seems to be that if it isn't uploaded on YouTube, it hasn't happened.

16 February 2011

11:00pm Footage of a anti-government protester who was shot in the head in Jad Hafas on February 14:




10:45pm Footage of a wounded protester after clashes with the Bahraini police on February 14:


10:33pm New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof just tweeted this:

People singing, chanting, dancing around Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain well into the night. Trucks delivering donated food.

8:20pm Hundreds of anti-government protesters are still gathering on Pearl Roundabout in Manama.

File 7936

7:03pm The Guardian has published five US diplomatic cables from (and about) Bahrain. They are all several years old, but they reflect what the US government knew, and what it was reporting internally, before the turmoil became as intense as it is today.

6:51pm Speaking to Al Jazeera, Matar Ibrahim Matar, a Bahraini Member of Parliament, says that the King should listen to the demands of the pro-democracy protesters.

"Our plan is to take the ruling family out of the direct political positions."

File 7916

5:45pm The latest images from a pro-government rally around the Bahrain National Stadium:

File 7876

File 7896

5:21pm Reports on Twitter say police is clashing with protesters in Sanad, south of Manama.

4:32pm Latest image from the protests at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama [@hussain_info via Twitter]File 7791

4:05pm An eyewitness tells Al Jazeera that a pro-government rally is forming near the National Museum of Manama. Some 70 cars with protesters have gathered near the site. More cars appear to be underway. The protest is overlooked by a small police force.

2:13pm New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof just tweeted this:

Bahrain's Pearl Square looks like Tahrir Square all over again. Police gathered in force but standing back for now.

1:43pm Relatives of Fadel Salman Matrouk, who was shot dead in front of a hospital a day earlier where mourners gathered for the funeral of another comrade, attend his funeral in Manama [AFP].File 7771

1:00pm Picture of US-made tear gas that was used against protesters during the past two days. This was taken by Maryam Alkhawaja, head of foreign relations at Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

File 7751

12:08pm Our correspondent says that there are rumours of a third person dying after being injured in protests yesterday. He said that protesters are very angry about this, but it was still unconfirmed.

11:25am Global Voices, an international community of bloggers who report on blogs and citizen media, maintain a special coverage page on the protests in Bahrain.

11:14am Funeral processions ends with burial of the deceased. Some of the protesters reported to head back to Pearl roundabout from the cemetery (Source).

File 7726

10:35am Policemen behind the killing of two protesters in Bahrain have been arrested pending investigation, AFP news agency reports the interior minister as saying, while thousands of protesters continue their demonstration in the centre of Manama.

10:24am Activists say they also want the release of political prisoners, which the government has promised, and the creation of a new constitution.

10:20am Picture from last night showing the crowds beginning to gather at Pearl roundabout. (Pic by Saleh Nass)

File 7706

10:17am Crowds in Bahrain seek wide-ranging political changes, including breaking the monarchy's grip on appointing top government posts.

9:39am Witnesses says that more people continue to join the funeral procession. Picture from twitter (Source).

File 7686

9:37am Thousands following funeral procession, while others continue to occupy Pearl roundabout. (Pic by Saleh Nass)

File 7666

9:20am Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human rights, told Al Jazeera that the King's speech "was too late".

People were expecting him to come out and meet the demands of the people - but he did not talk about how he will address the demands of the people.

People don't want only an investigation about the two killings - they want change.

9:05am Our correspondent says that there are no police in sight and "they are clearly allowing this march and funeral procession to continue".

9:01am Latest pictures from the funeral procession and people marching with it. (Source)

File 7646

9:00am Funeral procession making its way through city, with thousands of people chanting and following it. Some have left work to attend, saying: "It is our duty".

8:45am No police at the hospital now. Funeral will begin soon.

8:36pm Protesters at hospital morgue to collect body of man killed during yesterday's protests.

File 7626

8:34am Redha Haji, live tweeting from Bahrain, sends this update from the morgue where protesters are waiting to receive body of protester killed in yesterday's violence:

Lots more mourners present. All want to pay their last respects. Helicopter above.

8:15am Amnesty International condemns the "heavy-handed tactics used by Bahrain’s riot police" yesterday after the second death in two days. Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

This second killing within two days is both tragic and a very worrying development."

8:12am Pearl roundabout, a major landmark of the city is occupied by thousands of people. They are very well organised and are saying that they will make this Bahrain's version of Egypt's Tahrir Square.

There are no police officers on the roundabout - they are standing some 700 meters away. A group of protesters will march from the roundabout while others remain and keep it occupied.

8:03am Anti-government demonstrators in Bahrain are expected stage fresh protests in around 30 minutes.

7:38am Protesters camped out overnight, occupying a square in the capital city, Manama.

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  • Ali, protests of this magnitude in a democractic country would never be met with the extreme violence we have seen happening in the Mid East. People here would never tolerate it. It's difficult to even imagine anything that would prompt us to demonstrate in such large numbers. If we did demonstrate either the government would fall or it would have to find a means to satisfy the majority of protesters so they would go home voluntarily.

    I live in Canada and I am ashamed of the way police behaved during the G20 meetings here last summer as well as the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. They were much smaller protests and yet there was some police brutality in one,tear gas and rubber bullets were used at another. But there were no deaths and no critical injuries. Both incidents were investigated and disciplinary steps taken or will be taken. Democracy isn't perfect.

    A core belief is the right to self-determination, even if the individual is making the wrong decision, it is their right to do so. Our government serves only with the consent of the governed. If they lose the consent of the governed, they go. Truth be told, we too are controlled by a ruling class even if it is much larger. Democracy generally leads to a few main center parties that aren't really that different from each other and some fringe parties that could never win. The ruling class gets to keep on ruling as long as they keep citizens reasonably happy.

    The autocratic regimes are all falling because the ruling class got too greedy and failed to invest in the people which are its greatest resource. Even now they could save themselves but they won't because they are too arrogant. If they manage to keep a grip on power for another few months or years, they should quickly institute some checks and balances and turn their attention to satisfying their citizen's needs. Something tells me they won't go far enough.

    Western governments too should take note. Neo-liberal economic policies are widening the gap between rich and poor, and the middle-class is shrinking. That leads to social unrest. Large protests in any country mean that the ruling class is failing to provide what it's citizens need. That could be monetary but it could also be an issue of some form of discrimination. The protests are the king's fault. He has failed to provide something that his subjects need. Then he did the unforgiveable. He attacked his own subjects with lethal force.
  • musaafirdis Today 10:40 AM
    Dear Journalists at Al Jazeera,

    I respect the channel and have admired its courage. However your coverage from Bahrain is turning into one sided coverage and bias. The reasons are following:-

    1. These protests are different from the protests in Egypt and Tunisia. In the former two cases the whole population was united. It was not secretarial . The protestors owed their allegiance to the country. Not to another country or ideology and to true equality.
    The protestors here are totally different. Their allegiance is not to equality of all humans rather to a single sect and to a different country , Iran. All the disturbances precipitated in this country have been directly and indirectly instigated by Iran.
    2. The many opposition parties under the guise of opposition, Al Wefaq, Al Waad and various other human rights organsations need to answer one question, why do all their members belong to a single sect, the shia's and are not inclusive of other sects or nationalities. The so called democratic organsiations are based on a single ideological basis of superiority of one Islamic sect over the others.
    3. These same organizations cite human rights abuses. However they fought heavliy for the acquital of youths responsible for burning of a security personal by a Molotov cocktail. These organizations and their followers used every tactic to delay or disrupt the course of law for the dead security personal ( is one human life inferior to another). This is a single incident . There are others. Unbiased journalists have a moral obligation to look at both sides of the story.
    4. These protestors and their representatives should be asked about the killing of poor foreign workers living in their areas. What was their crime ?
    5. Rumors have surfaced of two Pakistani men having their ears chopped off in one of the shiite villages. What was their crime?
    6. Journalists should also question the biggest minority here , the Sunni's , why are they fearful of the Shia's gaining ground? The Ruling family alone is not Sunni.
    7. The question arises again and again of naturalized Sunnis' from other backgrounds. A majority of these people were who lived here for 25 years or more. So , are they not entitled to be citizens of this country. It is not as if they weer brought in overnight.
    8. The Shia's are not exactly the oppressed here, unlike the African Americans in the USA, who were totally devoid of power. The Shia's control Public Health, The Ministry of Electricity and Water, businesses, Batelco ( Bahrain's Major Telecom Provider). They control the biggest Civil Hospital In Bahrain, Salmaniya, where corruption is rampant.
    9. Ask these protestors about the discrimination they institute on an ideological basis again the Sunni's in the above mentioned ministries. Sunni doctors find it difficult to get a job in Salmaniya. Sunni patients especially if they are of other nationalities are discriminated against . I ask the Journalists of Al Jazeera and BBC to interview these people.
    10. Do not be deceived by the so called innocent demands of these protestors. They have 18 representatives in the parliament. During days of Asshoura their areas become no-go areas for other sects. Their demand is not for a fair soceity. Their allegiance is to Iran and hence a Shite Tehocratic State.
    11. The Al Jazeera and BBC Journalsits should ask the common Sunni, why do they fear a Shiite majority? Becuase of its inherent discrimintaion against sunni's. The sunni's know it.
    12. If Al Jazeera and BBC want to find out about the discrimination against sunni's , visit the website SunniOnline of the current oppressed state of sunni's in that country. Howcome Al Jazeera and BBC missed that oppressed community.

  • Bahrain, don't look back. This is your chance to get the freedom, your birth right. Best wishes.
  • Dear Al Jazeera,

    You are missing out on the voice of a big SILENT MAJORITY in Bahrain. Maryam Al Khawaja, and Nabeel rajab are representing a political group , and do not even represent the majority SHIA in Bahrain. So basing all your reports on what Maryam Al Khawaja says is really not valid and very Bias. Why don't you consider interviewing Sameera Rajab? Why don't you take other point of views?

    You are posting all these images & you do not know how valid and true they are. They are covering one part of the story. Did you mention that on the 14th of FEB, there was a march for the country and unity of our beloved kingdom , where over 4000 cars came out? Each car having an average of 3 people, makes that 12,000 people.
    Did you listen to the reports that came from the Ministry of interior last night?
    The first guy that passed away, WAS NOT PART OF THE PROTEST, and there are sayings that he killed himself with a molotov bomb. The 2nd guy that passed way, attacked a POLICE CAR, do you want the police to watch him attack and stay quiet?
    We are Bahrainees, and we live here. They have riots all year long. More riots than the days of the year, they burn stuff, they break things, they vandalize properties. Do you want us to watch them do that? Sorry we do not accept that as Bahrain and our security comes first. If they have a message to deliver , let them go through their reps at the parliament , they have the majority of seats, and they voted for these reps and it has not even been 6 months, they don't have faith that their reps can represent them? Why did they choose their reps in the first place if they can't deliver their message?

    Al Jazeera, we urge you to look at the story from two parts, and stop ruining bahrain's image in the media. Did you even see whats going on at the pearl roundabout? Its packed with women and kids, having popcorn and drinking tea, and a tv projector for entertainment. Seriously? What protest is this if they need entertainment from day one. Or is this Maryam Al khawaja's plan to keep people there? As she knows no one will stay with no entertainment and food.

    Bahrain is a civilzed country, we are not Egypt or tounis, and people here are NOT HUNGRY.

    We demand to see the other part of the story.

    (Edited by author 23 hours ago)

  • Mohsin, the peaceful protests didn't shame Bahrain in any way. We see peaceful protests as a sign of democracy. What Bahrain should be ashamed of is the killing of the protesters. That is what you will see condemned in the coming days. That is what shocks us, not the peaceful protests. A non-violence response is what would impress me.
  • Lady - you must be one of the royal elite to worry about the oppressors and the unjust rulers - take a grip - Both sides?? balanced??? We have a "King" with his mafia family members stealing from the rest of the people - do we give the killers equal time????
    Go ahead and pay for your voices to be heard - but do not come to Aljazeera - the reason they earned our trust is that they stand up for the wishes of the people. Let the people choose and respect their wishes after all this is not the 1700.
  • this is oil money not the king money and bahraini's people deserve it .
  • Freedom is Global, and Bahrainis are part of this big world.

    No one can be ruled by a family!!!! We live in which era?!

    Talk logic. ...

    Bahrain government are following the same path of bin Ali and Mubarak .. denial .. violence .. then apologies .. followed by promises ...

    Our government PLEASE skip it and learn the lesson lets be constitutional monarchy with our King and an elected government.

    Those who are supporting the government because the protestors are Shia …. YOU are racists
  • "Bahrain is a civilzed country, we are not Egypt or tounis, and people here are NOT HUNGRY"

    What does that mean??? We are all Arabs - The Arab Nation - there should be no "arrogance" among us. The definition of civilized is showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement.
    Arrogance is an attribute that is unbecoming to Arabs. It must have been picked up by being "rich" and/or "ignorant." Humility is a virtue - you may not have known this but " Man does not live by Bread alone" even if I believe that there are no hungry people.
  • The majority of Bahrainis are against this government and that is simply because of it's criminal policies and unjust behaviors which cannot stay hidden forever. People believe that the time for a change has come after about 40 years of the same discrimination, corruption, torture, racism and the same faces.
    Note that the very little portion of Bahrainis that drum and sing for the king are living a good life and never been tortured or discriminated against from all different aspects. Thats why they stand against the others Legitimate demands because they already have all of them. People in Bahrain are calling for a democratic county that equals all its citizens. And believe me there is no one will ask to change something that he is comfortable with.
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3.30am Police in Manama have used teargas to disperse protesters camped out in the capital, witnesses told the Reuters news agency. "Police are coming, they are shooting teargas at us," one demonstrator said.

Our journalist in Manama said:

I see lots of police cars visible from my hotel window. I can hear choppers flying around, and also hear constant booms, which may be the sound of tear-gas canisters being shot..."

3.20am Our jounalist on-the-ground in Manama tried to access the Live video feed of Pearl roundabout, but the site is blocked in Bahrain. This is the message that gets displayed instead:

File 8006

2.30am An Al Jazeera journalist on-the-ground in Bahrain's capital Manama said:

Driving along King Faisal Highway, one could see on the south side of the street above Pearl roundabout more than two dozen cars pulled over with people camping out for the night waving signs and flags

1.20am A Live camera feed from Bahrain's Pearl roundabout has been set-up online, Twitter user @HelpBahrain tweeted.The footage can be viewed here.

File 7986

1.10am Al Jazeera's correspondent, reporting from Bahrain, said that protesters are standing firm at Pearl roundabout, and they plan to make the site into their own version of Tahrir Square, which was the epicentre of Egypt's revolution.

Our correspondent said the mood at the Roundabout was celebratory but defiant. He added:

What [the protesters] were saying and what they were chanting, I think some here would describe as treasonous. Because the main chant repeated by the large crowd was 'Down with the Khalifa's' ... the al Khalifa royal family have run this country for over 200 years.

Our correspondent sent in this report:

1.05am There are reports on social media that the internet has been slowed in Bahrain.

New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof just tweeted this:

Why slow the Internet? The #Bahrain govt view seems to be that if it isn't uploaded on YouTube, it hasn't happened.

16 February 2011

11:00pm Footage of a anti-government protester who was shot in the head in Jad Hafas on February 14:

10:45pm Footage of a wounded protester after clashes with the Bahraini police on February 14:

10:33pm New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof just tweeted this:

People singing, chanting, dancing around Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain well into the night. Trucks delivering donated food.

8:20pm Hundreds of anti-government protesters are still gathering on Pearl Roundabout in Manama.

File 7936

7:03pm The Guardian has published five US diplomatic cables from (and about) Bahrain. They are all several years old, but they reflect what the US government knew, and what it was reporting internally, before the turmoil became as intense as it is today.

6:51pm Speaking to Al Jazeera, Matar Ibrahim Matar, a Bahraini Member of Parliament, says that the King should listen to the demands of the pro-democracy protesters.

"Our plan is to take the ruling family out of the direct political positions."

File 7916

5:45pm The latest images from a pro-government rally around the Bahrain National Stadium:

File 7876

File 7896

5:21pm Reports on Twitter say police is clashing with protesters in Sanad, south of Manama.

4:32pm Latest image from the protests at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama [@hussain_info via Twitter]File 7791

4:05pm An eyewitness tells Al Jazeera that a pro-government rally is forming near the National Museum of Manama. Some 70 cars with protesters have gathered near the site. More cars appear to be underway. The protest is overlooked by a small police force.

2:13pm New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof just tweeted this:

Bahrain's Pearl Square looks like Tahrir Square all over again. Police gathered in force but standing back for now.

1:43pm Relatives of Fadel Salman Matrouk, who was shot dead in front of a hospital a day earlier where mourners gathered for the funeral of another comrade, attend his funeral in Manama [AFP].File 7771

1:00pm Picture of US-made tear gas that was used against protesters during the past two days. This was taken by Maryam Alkhawaja, head of foreign relations at Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

File 7751

12:08pm Our correspondent says that there are rumours of a third person dying after being injured in protests yesterday. He said that protesters are very angry about this, but it was still unconfirmed.

11:25am Global Voices, an international community of bloggers who report on blogs and citizen media, maintain a special coverage page on the protests in Bahrain.

11:14am Funeral processions ends with burial of the deceased. Some of the protesters reported to head back to Pearl roundabout from the cemetery (Source).

File 7726

10:35am Policemen behind the killing of two protesters in Bahrain have been arrested pending investigation, AFP news agency reports the interior minister as saying, while thousands of protesters continue their demonstration in the centre of Manama.

10:24am Activists say they also want the release of political prisoners, which the government has promised, and the creation of a new constitution.

10:20am Picture from last night showing the crowds beginning to gather at Pearl roundabout. (Pic by Saleh Nass)

File 7706

10:17am Crowds in Bahrain seek wide-ranging political changes, including breaking the monarchy's grip on appointing top government posts.

9:39am Witnesses says that more people continue to join the funeral procession. Picture from twitter (Source).

File 7686

9:37am Thousands following funeral procession, while others continue to occupy Pearl roundabout. (Pic by Saleh Nass)

File 7666

9:20am Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human rights, told Al Jazeera that the King's speech "was too late".

People were expecting him to come out and meet the demands of the people - but he did not talk about how he will address the demands of the people.

People don't want only an investigation about the two killings - they want change.

9:05am Our correspondent says that there are no police in sight and "they are clearly allowing this march and funeral procession to continue".

9:01am Latest pictures from the funeral procession and people marching with it. (Source)

File 7646

9:00am Funeral procession making its way through city, with thousands of people chanting and following it. Some have left work to attend, saying: "It is our duty".

8:45am No police at the hospital now. Funeral will begin soon.

8:36pm Protesters at hospital morgue to collect body of man killed during yesterday's protests.

File 7626

8:34am Redha Haji, live tweeting from Bahrain, sends this update from the morgue where protesters are waiting to receive body of protester killed in yesterday's violence:

Lots more mourners present. All want to pay their last respects. Helicopter above.

8:15am Amnesty International condemns the "heavy-handed tactics used by Bahrain’s riot police" yesterday after the second death in two days. Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

This second killing within two days is both tragic and a very worrying development."

8:12am Pearl roundabout, a major landmark of the city is occupied by thousands of people. They are very well organised and are saying that they will make this Bahrain's version of Egypt's Tahrir Square.

There are no police officers on the roundabout - they are standing some 700 meters away. A group of protesters will march from the roundabout while others remain and keep it occupied.

8:03am Anti-government demonstrators in Bahrain are expected stage fresh protests in around 30 minutes.

7:38am Protesters camped out overnight, occupying a square in the capital city, Manama.


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Clashes spread in Bahraini capital


Armoured vehicles move towards central Manama after police storm protest site in roundabout, killing at least three.
Last Modified: 17 Feb 2011 01:56 GMT

Sporadic clashes have broken out in the Bahraini capital of Manama, hours after riot police attacked a makeshift encampment of pro-reform protesters in the centre of the city, killing at least three and injuring dozens of others.

An Al Jazeera correspondent, who cannot be named for security reasons, said on Thursday that "clashes were no longer limited to one place...they are now spread out in different parts of the city".

There were also reports of dozens of armoured vehicles moving towards the Pearl Roundabout, the protest site that was raided by the riot police.

Heavily-armed police stormed the traffic circle while the protesters camping overnight were asleep.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Salmaniya hospital, the main medical facility in Manama, Maryama Alkawaka of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said that she saw dozens of injured demonstrators being wheeled into emergency rooms early on Thursday morning.

Nazea Saeed, a journalist with Radio Monte Carlo, said hundreds of people had gathered at the hospital.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from the scene, she said the crowd is chanting: "Down with Al-Khalifa", in reference to the country's ruling family.

"People are also chanting that the blood of the victims will not be in vein," she added.

'Attacked without warning'

"People were attacked while they were sleeping. There was no warning," Saeed said. "And when they ran, the police attacked them from the direction they fled to."

Our correspondent said that even doctors, who had set up a medical tent near the protest site, were assaulted. One medical consultant was severely beaten and he was released because the police said "they didnt want him to die here".

Dozens are said to have been admitted into emergency rooms [maryamalkhawaja]

The kingdom's main Shia opposition bloc denounced the raid as "real terrorism".

"Whoever took the decision to attack the protest was aiming to kill," Abdul Jalil Khalil, a parliamentarian with the Wefaq bloc said. "This is real terrorism."

In a statement, the Bahraini interior ministry said that "security forces evacuated the area of Pearl Roundabout from protesters, after trying all opportunities for dialogue with them, in which some positively responded and left quietly."

Brigadier Tariq Hassan Al Hassan, a spokesman "called upon people to follow the constitution and the law while expressing their freedom of expression."

An Al Jazeera correspondent in the Pearl Roundabout area, said that he heard loud booms in the square, and felt a strong tear gas in the air.

"The police came in a quick move, using tear gas. It looks like they are trying to move the protesters away from the square, but this is no small protest," he said.

"Authorities are acting because they see clearly how big this is getting."

Matar Ibrahim, an opposition member of the parliament, said that women and children were among the injured.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Salmaniya hospital, he also said that at least that many of the wounded were in critical condition.

An Al Jazeera online producer in Manama said police helicopters were circling above the area.

"[Thursday] morning's call to prayer is struggling to become louder than the choppers circling overhead. The roads are nearly empty because of the police blockades, though just a little while ago, vehicles were travelling freely to and from the Lulu area," he said.

Unrest

Pro-reform protesters have taken to the streets of Manama since Monday, apparently inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Two people had died in police firing on the protesters, prior to Thursday's deadly police raid. The deaths prompted a rare apology from the king, who in a television appearance expressed his condolences for "the deaths of two of our dear sons", and said a committee would investigate the killings.

Country profile: Bahrain

"We will ask legislators to look into this issue and suggest needed laws to resolve it," he said, adding that peaceful protests were legal," Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa said.

But Alkwaka, the human rights activist, said that the fresh crackdown on peaceful protesters cast a doubt on the king's pledge for investigation and calm.

"People are now asking: is this the investigation that the king promised?" she asked.

Ruled and dominated by a Sunni minority, Bahrain has a Shia majority population. Tension between the two communities has been festering for years.

To balance the population, the government is accused of granting thousands of citizenships to Sunni workers. Saeed said this continues to be a source of deep tension.

Earlier, an Al Jazeera correspondent said pro-reform protesters initially demanded a constitutional monarchy. But as demonstrations gathered momentum, and as police crackdown on protests, many upped the ante on the ruling family, calling for its ouster.

A key ally of the US in the region, Bahrain houses a major military base for Washington.

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

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Algerian founding father urges reform

17 February 2011 Last updated at 00:44 GMT
By Chloe Arnold BBC News, Algiers
Protesters demonstrate in Algiers, Algeria (on 12 Feb 2011) Opposition parties have been staging pro-democracy rallies in the capital

The former leader of Algeria's ruling party has urged the president to respond to unrest across the Arab world by changing his government.

Abdelhamid Mehri said radical change was needed as Algeria approaches 50 years of independence from France.

In a letter addressed to President Abdulaziz Bouteflika, he said the government was no longer capable of addressing the nation's challenges.

Mr Mehri, 84, said that change must come soon.

"The voices calling for a peaceful change of this system are many. This change cannot be postponed any longer," he said.

A former leader of the country's ruling FLN party and one of the founders of the Algerian state, Mr Mehri played a pivotal role in Algeria's bloody struggle for independence.

He helped negotiate the Evian Treaty, ending 130 years of French colonial rule in Algeria.

Inspired by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, opposition parties and human rights groups have been staging pro-democracy rallies in the capital.

They say they will march every Saturday until democratic change is introduced.

There has been a heavy police presence at the rallies, and reports of dozens of arrests.

Meanwhile, Algeria's Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia has said the government will lift a 19-year state of emergency by the end of the month.

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Tanzania munitions dump blast: 32 dead in Dar es Salaam

17 February 2011 Last updated at 08:30 GMT
Locator map

At least 32 people have been killed in multiple explosions after an accident at a munitions dump in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, officials say.

The blasts lasted several hours at the Gongola Mboto military base.

The city's airport was reported to have been closed after the blasts, the British Foreign Office said.

Residents were encouraged to stay inside their homes and away from windows after the explosions.

Debris was hurled across the city and chief of staff Gen Abdurahman Shimbo said 32 people had died.

Earlier Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda said 17 bodies had been recovered.

Mr Pinda said the explosions had started in one depot before spreading to others in the camp.

By Thursday morning, 23 depots had been destroyed, along with two residential houses and a secondary school.

Mr Pinda told the National Assembly that at least 4,000 people were sheltering at the National Stadium, and warned the death toll could increase.

The British Foreign Office said police had set up an evacuation centre accepting those within a 10km from the explosion site.

Explosions at an ammunition depot at Mbagala army base near Dar es Salaam in spring 2009 killed at least three people.

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Libya protests: Activists call for 'day of anger'

17 February 2011 Last updated at 08:57 GMT
Pro-Gaddafi demonstrators in Benghazi. Photo: 16 February 2011 Gaddafi supporters held rallies in Benghazi and other Libyan cities, state TV reported

Anti-government activists in Libya have been using social networking sites to rally support for protests on what they are describing as a "day of anger".

There were reports of clashes in two cities late on Wednesday, with about four people reported dead in the eastern city of al-Bayda.

Dozens of people were injured in violent demonstrations on Tuesday night in the eastern city of Benghazi.

The unrest there followed the detention of an outspoken government critic.

Pro-democracy protests have recently swept through several Arab nations, with the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt forced to resign amid growing unrest.

But this week's demonstrations were the first display of defiance in Libya, where dissent is rarely tolerated.

Petrol bombs

A newspaper connected to one of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's sons showed the police station in al-Bayda on fire. The newspaper's website has since been closed down.

“Start Quote

Down with the enemies, down with them everywhere; down with the puppets everywhere, the puppets are falling, the autumn leaves are falling!”

End Quote Muammar Gaddafi Libyan leader

There are a number of unconfirmed reports of the government opening fire on the protesters.

Reports on social networks talk of government forces possibly firing from helicopters on to the crowds. Other sources said snipers were used.

Exiled groups say at least four people were killed but figures are impossible to verify.

Witnesses say that at one stage up to 2,000 people were involved in the protests early on Wednesday in Benghazi, which saw a march on government offices in the city.

The protesters are said to have thrown stones and petrol bombs and set vehicles alight. Witnesses said police used rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse them.

The protests reportedly began after the arrest of Fathi Terbil, who represents relatives of more than 1,000 prisoners allegedly massacred by security forces in Tripoli's Abu Salim jail in 1996. He was later said to have been freed.

Click to play

The BBC's Frank Gardner discusses the protests as amateur video of Benghazi emerges

In a speech broadcast on Wednesday evening, Col Gaddafi made no mention of the unrest but said the "revolutionaries" would prevail.

"Down with the enemies, down with them everywhere; down with the puppets everywhere, the puppets are falling, the autumn leaves are falling!" he said.

"The puppets of the USA, the puppets of Zionism are falling."

In a statement issued after the Benghazi clashes, a senior Libyan official warned that the authorities "will not allow a group of people to move around at night and play with the security of Libya".

It added: "The clashes last night were between small groups of people - up to 150. Some outsiders infiltrated that group. They were trying to corrupt the local legal process which has long been in place.

"We will not permit that at all, and we call on Libyans to voice their issues through existing channels, even if it is to call for the downfall of the government," said the official, who was not identified.

More than 100 members of a banned Islamist militant group were freed from Abu Salim on Wednesday. It is not clear if the Benghazi clashes and the release of the inmates were connected.

The European Union, meanwhile, has urged Libya to allow "free expression".

"We also call for calm and for all violence to be avoided," said a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton.

'Police state'

Col Gaddafi is the Arab world's longest-serving leader, having ruled oil-rich Libya since a coup in 1969.

He has always insisted that the country is run by a series of people's committees, though most outside observers believe it is a police state with him firmly in control, the BBC's Jon Leyne reports.

The Middle East has recently seen a wave of protests fuelled by discontent over unemployment, rising living costs, corruption and autocratic leaderships.

This began with the overthrow of Tunisia's leader, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, in January. Last week, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt resigned.

In recent days there have also been anti-government demonstrations in Yemen, Bahrain, and Iran.

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Bahrain protests: Police break up Pearl Square crowd

17 February 2011 Last updated at 08:33 GMT

Click to play

The BBC's Ian Pannell said Pearl Square was now occupied by the police

Security forces in Bahrain have dispersed thousands of anti-government protesters in Pearl Square in the centre of capital, Manama.

Hundreds of riot police using tear gas and batons moved in before dawn, with tanks now reported on some streets.

At least three people died in the police operation, according to the opposition, with 100 injured.

The protesters are calling for wide-ranging political reforms and had been camped out since Tuesday.

Clashes earlier in the week left two dead and dozens injured in the country.

The unrest comes amid a wave of protests that has swept through several Arab nations, with the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt forced to resign.

Tear gas

Ibrahim Sharif, of the secular Waad party, told the BBC that the police had acted without any warning at about 0300 (2400 GMT).

At the scene

image of Ian Pannell, Ian Pannell, BBC News, Manama

There is a de facto curfew in place this morning - the main body of vehicles on the streets belong to the security forces. We have even seen tanks roaming down the main highway that runs through the capital and in the distance I can see the remnants of the protesters' encampment - the tents and sleeping bags and belongings have all been unceremoniously dumped in the car park of a fancy shopping mall.

It would seem impossible for the protesters to move back to the square today - their movement is in disarray. Many people are back at home, many are unable to move and are desperately trying to find information from hospitals. Families have been separated. We will have to wait and see whether the demonstrators can come back together and reunite this protest.

"Throughout the day there were rumours that we would have another 24 hours, but the attack has come without warning.

"You have hundreds of women and children already camping there. People are sleeping in the tents [...] there is a dense fog of tear gas, these people could be trapped there and inhaling this tear gas," he said.

He said that he had seen at least 100 riot police on one side of the square and hundreds of people running away from the square down the side roads.

"We have two confirmed dead - one 65-year-old and another younger person, a third is in critical condition," he said, adding that ambulances with injured people were arriving almost every minute at Manama's main hospital, Salmaniya.

Some children, he said, had become separated from their parents as police stormed the square.

The Agence France-Presse news agency quoted an opposition MP as saying a fourth protester had died from his wounds but this has not been independently confirmed.

Abdul Jalil Khalil, from the opposition Wefaq party, told Reuters: "This is real terrorism. Whoever took the decision to attack the protest was aiming to kill."

One Bahrain resident, Ali, who went to the hospital to donate blood, told the BBC: "Lots of people are standing at the gates of the hospital. They came to donate blood. The police has closed the area so that no people can get in or out - some tried to get out and were shot at by police.

"There are many tanks and helicopters hovering around."

Protesters' demands

Ahead of the storming of the square the US had expressed concern at the violence and called for restraint and respect for the "universal rights of its citizens" and "their right to protest". Bahrain is a key US ally, hosting the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

On Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the US was "watching events from Bahrain and around the region very closely".

Click to play

ABC News Correspondent Miguel Marquez witnessed police moving into Pearl Square

But Bahrain's authorities said they had no choice but to storm the square.

"The security forces evacuated Pearl Square [...] after having exhausted all chance of dialogue," interior ministry spokesman Gen Tarek al-Hassan said, in a statement from the official news agency BNA quoted by AFP.

He said that as some "refused to submit to the law" they had to intervene to disperse them.

The disturbances in Bahrain - where the Shia Muslim majority has been ruled by a Sunni Muslim royal family since the 18th Century - are part of a wave of anti-government unrest that has swept the Middle East.

The BBC's Ian Pannell in Bahrain said that the brutal response of the authorities makes it clear that the ruling family saw this as a threat to its grip on power.

The Bahraini demonstrators said they wanted:

  • political prisoners to be released
  • more jobs and housing
  • the creation of a more representative and empowered parliament
  • a new constitution written by the people
  • a new cabinet that does not include Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, who has been in office for 40 years

In a rare TV appearance on Tuesday, Bahrain's king, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, expressed regret about the deaths of protesters and said he would continue reforms begun in 2002 when the emirate became a constitutional monarchy.

Opposition boycott

Since independence from the UK in 1971, tensions between the Sunni elite and the less affluent Shia have frequently caused civil unrest. Shia groups say they are marginalised, subject to unfair laws, and repressed.

Map of Bahrain

The conflict lessened in 1999 when Sheikh Hamad became emir. He freed political prisoners, allowed exiles to return and abolished a law permitting the government to detain individuals without trial for three years.

He also began a cautious process of democratic reform. In 2001, voters approved a National Action Charter that would transform Bahrain into a constitutional monarchy. The next year, Sheikh Hamad proclaimed himself king and decreed that a National Assembly be formed.

There was also greater protection of democracy and human rights. Although political parties were banned, "political societies" could operate.

Landmark elections were held in 2002, but the opposition boycotted them because the appointed upper chamber of parliament, the Shura Council, was given equal powers to the elected lower chamber, the Council of Representatives.

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The birth of a new EGYPT (vedio)

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