Emeute à سترة Sitra après la mort d’un jeune – 1 septembre 2011

Clashes in Bahrain continue after boy’s death

cnn.com

By the CNN Wire Staff

September 1, 2011

Sitra, Bahrain (CNN) — Clashes between police and Shiite Muslims in Bahrain stretched into Thursday morning, fueled by the killing of a 14-year-old boy by riot police in earlier demonstrations.

The government of the Persian Gulf island state said it would « await a full investigation » by the Interior Ministry before drawing any conclusions about the death early Wednesday of Ali Jawad al-Sheikh. Several witnesses said they saw the boy collapse after a tear-gas round was fired directly at him by riot police who were chasing al-Sheikh and other protesters in Sitra, southwest of the capital Manama.

But the Interior Ministry said no clashes were taking place at the time when the boy was injured, saying that the last reported incident of unrest in the area was around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Public prosecutors have already begun examining the incident, according to a statement from Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority, and it would also fall under the authority of the Independent Commission of Inquiry set up by Bahrain’s King Hamad in June to investigate reports of human rights abuses.

Clashes broke out on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr festival for many Shiites in Bahrain, one of several countries embroiled in anti-government protests across the Middle East and North Africa this year. By the early hours of Thursday, they had spread to most Shiite villages and parts of Manama.

Police responded heavily to street fights in three districts near the Pearl Roundabout, the epicenter of anti-government protests that began in February, witnesses said. Bahrain demolished the landmark Pearl Monument at the center of the plaza in March after it became a symbol of the demonstrations.

Protests have lingered for months despite a crackdown by Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy, backed by troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. More than 30 people have been killed the crackdown, in which activists say Bahraini security forces used live ammunition. Opposition groups say more than 1,000 people — mainly Shiites — have been detained and more than 2,000 have lost their jobs for allegedly taking part in the protests. Read more…