wrestler_nl
19-02-2011, 00:38
MANAMA - A senior leader of Bahrain's Shias said the government must resign and Parliament shut down pending a transition to democracy in an address after Friday prayers to the biggest crowd in five days of protests as unrest spread to Libya and Yemen.
Mr Abdulwahab Hussain told more than 10,000 demonstrators in front of a mosque in Sitra, south of the capital, Manama, that the Minister of the Interior should be tried after at least five people were killed in a police crackdown on the protests.
"The government is unstable," he said. "The police can't break the will of the people."
Earlier, thousands of mostly Shia Muslims attended the funeral of two protesters, hugging their coffins and shouting: "We sacrifice for Bahrain." Government supporters staged counter-demonstrations in Manama.
The dissent in the Persian Gulf island state that is home to the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet follows the toppling of autocratic rulers by popular movements in Egypt and Tunisia and marks the spread of dissent into the Persian Gulf.
The past week has also seen anti-government protests and clashes in Libya, Africa's biggest holder of crude oil reserves, and Yemen, a producer of liquefied natural gas.
The Bahrain army fired tear gas, buckshot and rubber bullets in an overnight crackdown on Friday, targeting a crowd of protesters gathered at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama calling for a constitutional monarchy and a change of government in the Shia-majority country ruled by Sunni royals.
"They started firing from the bridge without any warning, then they started firing from their cars," said Mr Hussein Ali, 42, who was at a rally site when security forces arrived. "There were women and children in tents. I saw cars running over tents. It was terrifying, a nightmare. Small children and women were falling over."
In Libya, soldiers were deployed in the streets of its second city, Benghazi, on Friday after thousands of people demonstrated over the killing of more than 20 protesters by security forces.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that, according to its sources inside Libya, security forces killed at least 24 people in crackdowns on Wednesday and Thursday.
In the early hours of Friday, Mr Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's leader for more than 40 years, appeared briefly at Green Square in the centre of Tripoli where he was surrounded by crowds of supporters but he did not speak.
His opponents called for new protests. "We call on all Libyans to come out after the prayer this afternoon," said an appeal posted on a Facebook page used by opposition activists.
In Yemen's capital Sanaa, riot police fired shots in the air and used tear gas against thousands of government opponents who also clashed with supporters of Yemen's long-time ruler on what protest organisers billed as a nationwide "Friday of Rage". At least four people were wounded.
Riots also flared overnight in the southern port of Aden, the country's second-largest city, with police shooting dead at least three demonstrators after cars and a local government building were set ablaze, officials said.
TODAYonline | World | More protests in Bahrain, unrest spreads in Libya, Yemen
(http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110219-0000230/More-protests-in-Bahrain,-unrest-spreads-in-Libya,-Yemen)
Filmpje is van Bahrain trouwens **SCHOKKEND**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTkukrBP-V4
Mr Abdulwahab Hussain told more than 10,000 demonstrators in front of a mosque in Sitra, south of the capital, Manama, that the Minister of the Interior should be tried after at least five people were killed in a police crackdown on the protests.
"The government is unstable," he said. "The police can't break the will of the people."
Earlier, thousands of mostly Shia Muslims attended the funeral of two protesters, hugging their coffins and shouting: "We sacrifice for Bahrain." Government supporters staged counter-demonstrations in Manama.
The dissent in the Persian Gulf island state that is home to the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet follows the toppling of autocratic rulers by popular movements in Egypt and Tunisia and marks the spread of dissent into the Persian Gulf.
The past week has also seen anti-government protests and clashes in Libya, Africa's biggest holder of crude oil reserves, and Yemen, a producer of liquefied natural gas.
The Bahrain army fired tear gas, buckshot and rubber bullets in an overnight crackdown on Friday, targeting a crowd of protesters gathered at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama calling for a constitutional monarchy and a change of government in the Shia-majority country ruled by Sunni royals.
"They started firing from the bridge without any warning, then they started firing from their cars," said Mr Hussein Ali, 42, who was at a rally site when security forces arrived. "There were women and children in tents. I saw cars running over tents. It was terrifying, a nightmare. Small children and women were falling over."
In Libya, soldiers were deployed in the streets of its second city, Benghazi, on Friday after thousands of people demonstrated over the killing of more than 20 protesters by security forces.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that, according to its sources inside Libya, security forces killed at least 24 people in crackdowns on Wednesday and Thursday.
In the early hours of Friday, Mr Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's leader for more than 40 years, appeared briefly at Green Square in the centre of Tripoli where he was surrounded by crowds of supporters but he did not speak.
His opponents called for new protests. "We call on all Libyans to come out after the prayer this afternoon," said an appeal posted on a Facebook page used by opposition activists.
In Yemen's capital Sanaa, riot police fired shots in the air and used tear gas against thousands of government opponents who also clashed with supporters of Yemen's long-time ruler on what protest organisers billed as a nationwide "Friday of Rage". At least four people were wounded.
Riots also flared overnight in the southern port of Aden, the country's second-largest city, with police shooting dead at least three demonstrators after cars and a local government building were set ablaze, officials said.
TODAYonline | World | More protests in Bahrain, unrest spreads in Libya, Yemen
(http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110219-0000230/More-protests-in-Bahrain,-unrest-spreads-in-Libya,-Yemen)
Filmpje is van Bahrain trouwens **SCHOKKEND**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTkukrBP-V4