People in various parts of the Persian Gulf kingdom, including Samahij, Bilad al-Qadeem, Karranah, Sitra and Bani Jamrah, took to the streets on Friday to protest against the deadly Saudi airstrikes on Yemen.
Saudi Arabia’s air campaign in Yemen started on March 26 in a bid to restore power to fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said in a statement on Thursday at least 519 people, including women and children, have so far lost their lives in two weeks of violence in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes continue unabated.
She added that 1,700 people have been also wounded during clashes between rival groups in Yemen and due to the Saudi strikes against the country.
Chanting slogans against the Al Khalifah regime, the Bahraini demonstrators also demanded the release of Salman, the 49-year-old secretary general of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.
Salman was arrested on December 28, 2014 on charges of seeking regime change and collaborating with foreign powers. He has strongly denied the charges.
His arrest has triggered massive condemnation inside and outside the monarchy, with leaders, governments and international organizations across the world calling for his immediate release.
The Friday protesters also voiced their anger against government forces’ brutal attacks on people’s houses and the detention of the youth.
Bahraini security forces arrested a number of people in the village of Diraz, west of the capital city of Manama, on Thursday.
Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.
Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.
