Saudi Arabian Troops Enter Bahraini Territory
Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain (ibtimes.com)
Saudi Arabian kingdom was reported to have sent about 1,000 troops into Bahrain in order to protect the oil, the power facilities and the banking center of the neighboring country, Bahraini newspaper Akhbar al Khaleej says.
The call for intervention was put on Sunday after the protesters blockaded the financial district in some of the largest demonstrations yet. The regime asked the people to send representatives to talk but it seems the talks never happened.
According to other reports, the troops of the Saudis are meant to contain the unrest, and they entered the capital of the country Manama. Other Persian Gulf countries are expected to send troops.
The troops were headed, according to other reports, to the region of Riffa, a Sunni area where the royal family lives. They were transported into 150 armored troop carriers, and were accompanied by other 50 vehicles including ambulances, jeeps, buses, and water tanks.
Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain (presstv.ir)
The troops were lightly armed and there was no sign of tank or missile launchers. The Bahraini government did not confirm the presence of the troops in the country that is hosting the U.S. Fifth Fleet. According to Persian Gulf states regulation if a friendly army comes to a country to help it operates under the government orders.
Bahrain is a small kingdom in the Persian Gulf, and has a specificity in the sense that a Sunni royal dynasty rules over a majority of Shiites.
Protests have sparked in the country as soon as the revolts in Egypt and after a very brutal initial crackdown, the regime accepted to discuss with the people the reforms that are to be implemented so that the majority feel represented in the decision-making process.
Saudi Arabia on its turn went through a “day of rage,” nothing like the one-million-people-day-of-rage in Tahrir Square, Egypt, and focused mainly on releasing some activists and implementing reforms.
Analysts say that people in Saudi Arabia do not demand the removal of the royal family but merely the implementation of some economic reforms.
