15 teens held in Bahrain unrest
MANAMA â Rioters burned cars and set off explosions with gas cylinders on Thursday in the third night of unrest in Bahrain, and 15 people were arrested, police said. Among those arrested were children aged between 13 and 15, caught after police used tear gas to break up a protest where rioters stole a car and set it ablaze, an Interior Ministry official said.
The unrest has flared since a committee for Bahrainâs unemployed organised protests against joblessness and to demand an investigation into a claim of an assault by unidentified men, believed to be armed security officials, on committee member Moussa Abdaali. The committee said it had called off Thursdayâs protest a few hours before it began, but protesters claiming to be representatives of villages gathered and organised the rally.
About 80 people had marched through the highway causing traffic chaos, the official said. Two gas cylinders exploded after rioters set them on fire and placed them inside burning garbage dumps that were used to block traffic. âWhen police approached them, they hurled stones and Molotov bombs at the units, before taking refuge in a nearby village from which they continued their attacks,â the official said.
A Bahraini official has accused the organisers of attempting to mimic the riots against poverty, crime and unemployment that shook Franceâs suburbs and cities in late October and November. The head of the capital security directorate, Colonel Isa Al Musalam, has called the protests a campaign to incite unrest with the aim of striking terror with the public.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-12-03 |