At least four die as army rolls in to crush Bahrain street protests

Police swinging clubs and firing tear gas smashed into demonstrators, many of them sleeping, in a pre-dawn raid in Pearl Square in the capital, Manama, the site of anti-government rallies since Monday.

Medical officials said four people were killed and hundreds more injured.

The protesters want wide-ranging political reforms and had been camped out since Tuesday. Clashes earlier in the week were said to have left two dead and dozens injured.

The military announced a ban on gatherings following the early morning raid, saying on state TV it had “key parts” of the capital under its control. Manama was effectively shut down, with banks and key institutions closed and workers staying at home.

After days of holding back, the island nation’s Sunni rulers unleashed the crackdown to stamp out the anti-government upheaval which has spread to the Gulf since the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Bahrain’s rulers and their Arab allies depict any unrest among their Shiite populations as a move by neighbouring Shiite-majority Iran to expand its clout. But the assault may only further inflame protesters. In the wake of the bloodshed, demonstrators chanted “the regime must go” and burned pictures of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa outside Salmaniyah Hospital, the main state medical facility.

The hospital was thrown into chaos by a stream of dozens of wounded from Pearl Square with gaping wounds, broken bones and respiratory problems from tear gas. Men and women lay in shock on stretchers, heads bleeding, arms in casts, faces bruised as they were shuttled around by nurses. At the entrance, women wrapped in black robes embraced each other and wept.

The assault came with little warning. Police surrounded the square and then quickly moved in. Some on a bridge overhead, pumping down volleys of tear gas, as others knocked down tents, swinging truncheons at those inside.

Dr Sadek Al-Ikri, 44, said he was tending to sick protesters at a makeshift medical tent when the police stormed in. He said he was tied up and severely beaten, then thrown on a bus with others.

“They were beating me so hard I could no longer see. There was so much blood running from my head,” he said. “I was yelling, ‘I’m a doctor, I’m a doctor.’ But they didn’t stop.”

While the protests began as a cry for the country’s Sunni monarchy to loosen its grip, the uprising’s demands have steadily grown bolder. Many protesters called for the government to provide more jobs and better housing, free all political detainees and abolish the system that offers Bahraini citizenship to Sunnis from around the Middle East.

Increasingly, protesters also chanted slogans to wipe away the entire ruling dynasty that has led Bahrain for more than 200 years

The stability of Bahrain’s government is seen as crucial by its other allies in the Gulf, who – thought they rarely say it in public – see Bahrain’s Shiite majority as the weak link in their unity against Iranian influence.

Although Bahrain is sandwiched between OPEC oil-producing heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Qatar, it has limited oil resources and depends heavily on its role as a regional financial hub and playground for Saudis, who can drive over a causeway to enjoy Bahrain’s Western-style bars, hotels and beaches.

The unrest is also threatening the opening next month of Formula One racing, one of the centrepieces of Bahrain’s claims for international prestige.

The GP2 Asia Series race, due to start on Friday on the same circuit used by Formula One, was called off at the request of the Bahrain Motorsport Federation “due to force majeure”, race organisers announced.

The decision throws serious doubt on the viability of staging the Bahrain Grand Prix next month. The race, the curtain-raiser to the new Formula One season, is due to be staged at the track from March 11-13.