Violent Shia protests embarrass Bahrain

The Gulf island state of Bahrain was facing its most serious unrest for 25 years yesterday as itordered reinforcements of armed police to protect the leaders of six Gulf monarchies who had assembled for a summit on regional security.

Bahrain is a close ally of Britain and an important naval and air base for Western forces maintaining sanctions on Iraq and monitoring military movements by Iran.

A statement issued in London by the opposition Bahrain Freedom Movement said clashes continued yesterday morning. The movement said the British head of Bahrain's security apparatus, Ian Henderson, had been singled out for denunciation at funerals of people killed in the disorders. The upheaval was blamed by Bahrain on agitators inspired by Iran. Bahrain lies just off the coast of Saudi Arabia but was traditionally regarded by Iranian nationalists as their own "14th province". Dominated in earlier centuries by Persia, the small archipelago has a population of about 500,000.

Foreign diplomats estimate at least 55 per cent of Bahrain's people share Iran's Shia Muslim religion, but the government says the figure is only 35 per cent. Foreign residents and human rights groups have long regarded the Bahraini security forces as heavy-handed in their treatment of the country's Shias.

Trouble in Bahrain has worrying implications for Saudi Arabia because Shias constitute a majority of the population in the kingdom's eastern province where most oil production is concentrated. The causeway linking Bahrain to the Saudi coast was closed yesterday, reportedly to allow a detachment of Saudi national guard to reinforce the Bahrain police.

The summit of the Gulf Co-Operation Council, which unites Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, went ahead under heavy guard. The latest outbreak of violence followed the arrest of a Shia clergyman, Sheikh Ali Salman, who has received theological training in Iran. One account from the government said youths began throwing stones at Bahraini and expatriate men and women taking part in a charity marathon through a Shia village.

Opposition movements in exile and local witnesses reported at least nine people dead after clashes between the security forces and Shia youths armed with swords, knives, iron bars and petrol bombs. The demonstrators are said to have chanted "death to theAl-Khalifa", a refererence to the ruling dynasty, which is Sunni Muslim..

Expatriates contacted from abroad described scenes similar to the Palestinian intifada in poor Shia villages outside the capital, Manama, as demonstrators burnt car tyres and the security forces used helicopters, tear-gas, and live rounds.

The Bahrain Interior Ministry said the government of Sheikh Isa Bin Salman al Khalifa was in control of the situation. The ministry said the incidents were not spontaneous but were planned and accompanied by a propaganda campaign from abroad. In Tehran the radical newspaper, Jomhuri Islami, said: "The Muslim people of Bahrain are unhappy that Bahrain has become a pleasure centre for US, European and Saudi capitalists."