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| Arabia |
| Bahrain Opens Probe into Death in Protest Area |
| 2012-04-22 |
| [An Nahar] Bahraini opposition groups claimed Saturday that a man was killed during festivities with security forces, threatening to sharply escalate the Gulf nation's unrest as officials struggle under the world spotlight as hosts of the Formula One Grand Prix. Authorities opened an investigation in a bid to defuse tensions. At least 50 people have died in the unrest since February 2011 in the longest-running street battles of the Arab Spring. Bahrain's Shiite majority seeks to break the near monopoly on power by the ruling Sunni dynasty, which has close ties to the West. Persistent protests have left the country's rulers struggling to keep attention on the buildup to Sunday's Formula One race -- Bahrain's premier international event. It was called off last year amid security fears and Bahrain's leaders lobbied hard to hold this year's event in efforts to portray stability and mend the country's international image. A statement by Bahrain's Interior Ministry said a probe was under way, but gave no other immediate details. The death, however, was likely to intensify a wave of expected protests to coincide with the F1. The body was found in an area west of the capital Manama, where festivities broke out after a massive protest march Friday. Opposition factions said riot police and demonstrators were engaged in running skirmishes around the village of Shakhura, about five miles (eight kilometers) west of the capital Manama and known for its burial mounds dating back more than 5,000 years. The area is 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the Grand Prix circuit, which is surrounded by desert and under round-the-clock security watch. The Interior Ministry said the man who died was identified as Salah Abbas Habib Musa, 36, and the case was "being treated as a homicide." The ministry statement did not give a cause of death but said Sherlocks found "a wound" on the left side of his body. |
| Posted by:Fred |