Saudi troops sent into Bahrain to crush protest movement for democracy

Reports say military force deployed to Gulf neighbour to help protect government facilities after weeks of unrest.

Al Jazeera,  14 Mar 2011 16:04 GMT

Bahrain has seen weeks of protests as demonstrators pressure the nation’s rulers to offer reforms [Reuters]

Hundreds of Saudi troops have entered Bahrain to help protect government facilities there, according to witnesses.

Bahrain television broadcast images of the troops entering the Gulf State, which lies between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, on Monday.

The images back up earlier claims by Saudi sources that a force had entered Bahrain whose Sunni rulers have faced weeks of protests and growing pressure from a majority Shia population to institute political reforms.

“About 1,000 Saudi soldiers entered Bahrain early on Monday morning through the causeway to Bahrain,” the Reuters news agency reported a Saudi source as saying, referring to the 26km causeway that connects the island kingdom to Saudi Arabia.

“They are part of the Gulf Co-operation Council [GCC] force that would guard the government installations.”

In Saudi Arabia, the SPA state news agency carried a government statement saying: “The council of ministers has confirmed that it has answered a request by Bahrain for support.”

Continues >>