Bahraini mourners chant Death to the King at funerals

Thousands of mourners for those killed in a crackdown by Bahrain’s security forces flooded onto the streets yelling ‘Death to the King’, as protests in the country took a deadly turn.

As King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa attempted to reassert the Sunni monarchy’s shattered authority and tanks and armoured vehicles patrolled Manama’s streets, thousands of mourners attended the burials of those killed by the military. The attack by the military took place before first light yesterday on a protest camp containing children and women as well as male demonstrators.

The furious anger in the city is palpable, as protestors pledge their lives in revenge for the deaths and even Sunni protestors join the majority Shia’a Muslims fighting for an end to disenfranchisement and discrimination by the Sunni rulers. Initially, the protestors called for fair treatment and social reforms – the killings yesterday changed all that. The focus now is on the removal of Bahrain’s 200-year rule by the Khalifa dynasty, a key US ally against Iraq.

The brother of one of the dead told reporters ‘something had broken inside him’ and Bahrain’s most senior Shia’a cleric, Sheikh Issa Qassem called the attacks a ‘massacre’ adding the door for dialogue with the government is now slammed shut.
The US and other world leaders are also condemning the violence, although America may be more concerned about the position of its 5th Fleet, stationed in Bahrain.

After concerted pressure, Britain has revoked a number of its arms licenses to Bahrain, although most of the now-prohibited exports are listed as crowd-control devices such as tear gas rather than weapons. At least five people, including a 2-year old child, were killed yesterday, with hundreds injured.