Three killed, 125 injured

V L Srinivasan
Manama (Bahrain), Feb 18:


In a pre-dawn swoop, Special Security Forces personnel from the Interior Ministry stormed the Pearl Roundabout and dispersed hundreds of demonstrators from its vicinity early yesterday.
While the ministry confirmed two deaths in the operation that lasted for more than an hour, the main Opposition Al Wefaq claimed that three persons were killed.
On the other hand, the Government has also stationed the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) personnel in the Capital Governorate to provide further security and safety to people and their properties and called upon the people to avoid gathering in their own interest.
Operation Pearl Roundabout began with the security personnel arriving at the venue around 3am and asked the demonstrators, who had been camping at the site following the death of two people since Tuesday, to leave as it was illegal for them to stage a protest in the area. Most protestors, including women and children were sleeping in their makeshift tents around that time.
While some of the demonstrators heeded to the warning, others raised slogans and started clashing with police.
One of the injured protesters was in a critical condition while 82 others had been discharged after being treated for minor injuries. The others were undergoing treatment in Salmaniya Medical Complex.
Meanwhile, protestors alleged that four people were killed and identified the victims as Hussain Zayeb, Ali Khudeer, Mahmood Makki and Isa Abdul Hussain. They also pleaded for people to come forward and donate blood, as SMC reportedly did not have enough blood in their blood bank, to treat the injured.
On the other hand, the Shura Council and Parliament, which were scheduled to hold a special meeting to discuss the events that occurred in the Kingdom during the last three days, cancelled the meeting.
In a statement, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) said all operations at Bahrain International Airport were running normally and all flights were on schedule. Air passengers or those wishing to receive passengers are advised to leave ample time for the journey to the airport to mitigate any possible delays or traffic congestions, the statement said.
A correspondent of ABC News Miguel Marquez was assaulted by men with billy clubs while covering the Pearl Roundabout protest rally.
Mr Marquez said he was not badly injured, but he was hit several times and his camera was pulled from his hands while he yelled, “Journalist, journalist!” — trying to show he was not a protester. He was on
the phone to ABC News in New York when the attack happened.