Bahraini forces backed by helicopters launched a crackdown on protesters on Wednesday, imposing a curfew and clearing hundreds from a camp that had become the symbol of an uprising by the Shi'ite Muslim majority.
Hospital sources said three policemen and at least two protesters were killed in the assault that began a day after Bahrain declared martial law to quell sectarian unrest that has sucked in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled neighbour Saudi Arabia.
A defiant youth movement, which had been leading protests at the Pearl roundabout, called for a mass demonstration from all Manama suburbs to Budaya Street in the north of the capital.
Minutes after the call was made, a military official appeared on Bahrain’s state television to ban all marches and gatherings and impose a curfew from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. across a large swathe of Manama. A Reuters witness saw Bahraini tanks and armoured vehicles move in the direction of Budaya Street.
A member of parliament from the largest Shi’ite Muslim opposition group denounced the government assault as a declaration of war on the Shi’ite community.
"This is war of annihilation. This does not happen even in wars and this is not acceptable," Abdel Jalil Khalil, the head of Wefaq’s 18-member parliament bloc, said.
"I saw them fire live rounds, in front of my own eyes."
He said at least five people had been killed by security forces who fanned out across the capital. There was no independent confirmation as riot police surrounded several hospitals and checkpoints made movements difficult.
The United States, a close ally of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, has called for restraint in the island kingdom, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. It sent U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman to Bahrain to push for talks to resolve the crisis.
Over 60 percent of Bahrainis are Shi’ites and they complain of discrimination at the hands of the Sunni royal family, the al-Khalifa. Most Shi’ites want a constitutional monarchy but calls by some hardliners for the overthrow of the monarchy have alarmed the Sunni minority, which fears that unrest could serve non-Arab Shi’ite power Iran.
Gulf Arab ruling families are Sunni and analysts say the intervention of their forces in Bahrain might provoke a response from Iran, which supports Shi’ite groups in Iraq and Lebanon.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Bahrain’s crackdown was "unjustifiable and irreparable".
"Today, we witness the degree of pressure imposed on the majority of people in Bahrain," he said according to state TV. "What has happened is bad, unjustifiable and irreparable."
