Bahraini Villages under Assailants’ Attacks

Local Editor

Under the cover of police, groups of Bahrainis wielding knives and sticks attacked residents of village, near the capital Manama, overnight beating them harshly and burning some homes.

"I saw hundreds of men carrying knives, sticks and other sharp objects," on the outskirts of several villages, said one witness who identified himself only as Hussein.
"They were stopping cars and asking passengers where they lived in order to determine what sect they belonged to as well as their political affiliation," he told Agence France Presse by telephone.

Al-Wefaq, the largest opposition group, said the attackers were in civilians clothes and beat up residents of civilian villages.
A statement by the group accused security forces of failing to stop the attacks.
"The security forces did not carry out their duty, they did not disperse the assailants or prevent them from attacking citizens," the statement said, adding that authorities must "deal with these militias."

In a statement released late Tuesday, the ministry admitted that the assailants "attacked 24-hour shops and destroyed two cars, after holding an illegal gathering."
However, it mentioned nothing on police arrests and duties.
On another level, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt announced Tuesday that "the prominent Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is in a critical condition."

"Denmark demands that Danish-Bahraini citizen and human rights activist al-Khawaja be freed," Thorning-Schmidt said in a press conference Copenhagen.

"According to our information, Khawaja's condition is very critical."
Al-Khawaja, who holds dual Danish and Bahraini nationality, was given a life sentence in June 2011.
On Monday, al-Kwawaja's lawyer Mohammed al-Jeshi said the Bahraini activist was "feared to have died" due to repeated refusals by Bahraini authorities to contact him.


Source: News agencies, Edited by moqawama.org