Dubai: Saudi security forces clashed with
Shiite protesters in the kingdom`s oil-rich east at dawn
today, killing one person and wounding three, witnesses and
activists said.
Security forces opened fire with live rounds after
protesters hurled stones at one of their vehicles in the
Shiite village of Al-Awamiya in the Qatif region, witnesses
said.
Activists said Issam Mohammed, 22, was killed by multiple
bullet wounds.
Three other people were wounded by security force fire,
one of them a man driving through a checkpoint at the entrance
to the village, the activists said.
Security forces sealed off the village after the clashes,
witnesses said.
There was no immediate comment from the Saudi
authorities.
The clashes came after demonstrations were held in four
Qatif region villages to call for the "release of political
detainees, reform and an end to sectarian discrimination," one
activist said on the condition of anonymity.
Protests erupted in the Eastern Province in March when
members of the kingdom`s Shiite minority took to the streets
to condemn Saudi military intervention against Shiite-led
pro-democracy demonstrations in neighbouring Bahrain.
Four Shiites were shot dead in November. The interior
ministry said security forces had come under fire from gunmen
operating on "foreign orders," in a veiled accusation against
Shiite Iran. (AFP)
PTI
