Euronews on Mar 14, 2011
In one of the most violent confrontations since troops killed seven protesters last month, police used tear gas and water cannon to break up demonstrations against the kingdom’s royal family. Witnesses said rubber bullets were also fired by police.
Bahrain is gripped in its worst unrest since the 1990s For several weeks now the Shi’ite majority has held rallies complaining against what it says is discrimination by the ruling Sunni minority.
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Washington Post: Security official in Saudi Arabia: Gulf military force enters Bahrain to help deal with unrest
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF, Monday, March 14, 4:59 AM
CAIRO — A security official in Saudi Arabia says a military force from Gulf states has entered Bahrain to help deal with a month of political unrest in the island kingdom.
The Saudi official says the units come from a special force within the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to brief media. He did not have information on the size of the force, but says they were deployed by air and road and will help protect key buildings.
The intervention sharply boosts the regional stakes on behalf of Bahrain’s embattled Sunni rulers, who have faced growing pressures from the country’s majority Shiites for sweeping political reforms.
The GCC members are Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.