Massacre of civilians in Bahrain

The US puppet rulers in Bahrain have unleashed a heavy crackdown on peaceful protesters demanding reform and an end to decades of discrimination against its ordinary citizens. The brutal state security forces opened fire on crowds of demonstrators killing scores of innocent people and injuring hundreds. There were reports about hundreds of people been missing or their whereabouts unknown.

A gathering of protesters in al-Manama

The king Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah, the repressive US backed tyrant has been trying to stamp out the anti-government upheaval that reached Bahrain since the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya and Yemen. After the killings, the Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifah said on state television that it was ‘time for dialogue not fighting.’   

Salmaniya hospital in Manama, the capital of Bahrain was overflowing with casualties. One distraught doctor described the chaos at hospital as something close to a war zone. The doctors treating the wounded have appealed for help from the international community in their attempts to handle the casualties. Dr Ghassan said the security forces were shooting on people’s heads and many victims have their brains blown out. He also said the hospital was running short of blood and requested for more supplies.        

The protesters gathered at Pearl roundabout in Manama described the chaotic scenes when bullets started coming from many directions as they sought cover. One protester named Ali al-Haji said he saw people getting shot in the chest, head and leg.  

Tanks and armoured personnel carriers were patrolling the streets of Manama and troops backed by tanks had locked down the city. Khalid al-Khalifa, the foreign minister first denied that the military had used fire arms against the people saying the security forces were only trying to evacuate the Pearl roundabout. He later justified the shootings saying it was necessary because the demonstrators were pushing the country towards the ‘brink of sectarian abyss.’       

After the massacre on the streets of Manama, and continued brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, was said to have phoned Bahrain’s foreign minister to express her ‘deep concern’ over what happened. No outright condemnation by Washington of the heavy handed methods of Bahrain’s security forces because the country was a US stooge in the Persian Gulf region.     

Bahrain is dubbed as a US military base because it is home to US navy’s fifth fleet. The US sees it as a critical counterbalance to Iran’s military power in the region.  

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Written by: Ibrahim Nazim
19 February 2011, Saturday
16 Raby` al-awal 1432