Saudi police have reportedly opened gunfire on and launched stun
grenades at several hundred protesters March 10 rallying in the heavily
Shiite-populated city of Qatif in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern
Province.
The decision to employ violence in this latest crackdown comes a day
before Friday prayers, after which various Saudi opposition groups were
planning to rally in the streets. Unrest has been simmering in the
Saudi kingdom over the past couple weeks, with mostly Sunni youth, human
rights activists and intellectuals in Riyadh and Jeddah campaigning for
greater political freedoms, including the call for a constitutional
monarchy. A so-called “Day of Rage” of protests across the country has
been called for March 11 by Facebook groups Hanyn (Nostalgia) Revolution
and the Free Youth Coalition following Friday prayers.
What is most critical to Saudi Arabia, however, is Shiite-driven
unrest in the country’s Eastern Province. Shiite activists and clerics
have become more vocal in recent weeks in expressing their dissent and
have been attempting to dodge Saudi security forces. The Saudi regime
has been cautious thus far, not wanting to inflame the protests with a
violent crackdown but at the same time facing a growing need to
demonstrate firm control.
Yet in watching Shiite unrest continue to simmer in the nearby >>>
