Manama: Emergency declared in Bahrain

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Manama: Emergency declared in Bahrain

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Emergency declared in Bahrain due to prevailing unrest.

16 March,2011 07:47 am

Bahrain declared martial law on Tuesday as it struggled to quell an uprising by the islands Shiite Muslim majority that has drawn in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled neighbour Saudi Arabia. The three-month state of emergency will hand wholesale power to Bahrains security forces, which are dominated by the countrys Sunni Muslim elite, stoking sectarian tensions in one of the Gulfs most politically volatile nations.In a sign of continued disturbances in the tiny kingdom, an opposition politician said a Bahraini man was killed and several wounded in clashes with police in the Shiite area of Sitra. The state television said a Bahraini policeman was also killed in clashes, refuting some reports that a Saudi soldier had died.