Gulf troops will stay in Bahrain until its Sunni rulers are satisfied that threats from Iran have eased, the island kingdom's foreign minister said today amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent.
Gulf troops will stay in Bahrain until its Sunni rulers are satisfied that threats from Iran have eased, the island kingdom's foreign minister said today amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent.
Bahrain's king declared martial law last month and invited about 1,500 troops from Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states to help contain a Shiite uprising that Sunni leaders around the oil-rich region believe could open the way for greater influence by Shiite powerhouse Iran.
The country's foreign minister, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, told reporters that the Gulf force is needed to counter a "sustained campaign" by Iran in Bahrain, the host of the US Navy's 5th Fleet.
"There is an external threat on the whole Gulf," the minister said on the sidelines of an anti-piracy conference in Dubai. He denied the Gulf force is "policing" the majority Shiite nation and emphasised the foreign forces' stated mission is to protect Bahrain's "vital installations against a foreign threat."
Authorities claimed they see Iran's influence in the Shiite opposition that has staged weeks of demonstrations and sit-ins demanding greater political freedoms and equal rights.
Tehran has denounced the deployment of a Saudi-led force to help prop up Bahrain's monarchy and condemned the crackdown.
Hundreds of protesters, opposition leaders and human rights activists have been taken into custody since Bahrain declared emergency rule on March 15 attempts to crush the revolt.
Bahrain's state news agency today said seven detained opposition supporters will go on trial before a military court for the killing of two policemen.
The report by the Bahrain News Agency said a military prosecutor charged the seven with premeditated murder yesterday. They also face "other charges," the report said. It did not elaborate, except to say the two policemen died after being run over by a car in the capital Manama.
Another hearing in the case is set for tomorrow.
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