Police out in force in Bahrain after attacks
Manama, February 15, 2013
Additional policemen will be deployed throughout the weekend after a policeman and a youth died and 21 others were injured following violent attacks, destruction of property and the blocking of roads brought chaos to Bahrain yesterday.
Policeman Mohamed Asif Khan, 23, died at 10.50 pm of injuries suffered when rioters threw firebombs at his patrol in Sehla, said a report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister newspaper.
Bomb squads also defused a 2kg bomb on the King Fahad Causeway last night, while another suspicious object was recovered from Bilad Al Qadeem, the Interior Ministry said.
Police responded by restoring order and clearing roads. Traffic moved freely in the majority of areas throughout the day.
When necessary, police employed proportionate force to disperse violent crowds, with most incidents involving small groups of rioters who were quickly dispersed before they could amass into larger groups.
During some of these dispersals, several police officers were injured, some severely and required hospital care, said Public Security chief Major-General Tariq Al Hassan.
The most violent group amassed at about 8 am in the village of Daih where 300 rioters assembled to attack police, who were deployed in the area, with rocks, steel rods and Molotov cocktails. Warning shots were fired but failed to disperse the advancing mob which continued the attack, Maj-Gen Al Hassan said.
Officers fired birdshots to defend themselves. At least one rioter was injured in the process. A short time later, a young man was pronounced dead at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), the report said.
An investigation into the death has been launched and the police chief expressed condolences to the family. He then warned people against exploiting the young man's death for political purposes or as an excuse to engage in criminal or riotous behaviour.
Meanwhile, the Manama Prosecution acting chief said a claim by a man that his sister had died at SMC as a result of tear gas was not true. She had been admitted to hospital on January 9 and died of chronic pulmonary fibrosis. - TradeArabia News Service
