Bahrain: Cops Fire on Mourners
The AP reports:
Bahraini security forces shot at protesters near Pearl Square on Friday and wounded at least 23, a former Shi'ite lawmaker said, a day after police forcibly cleared a protest camp from the traffic circle in Manama.
"We think it was the army," said Sayed Hadi, of Wefaq, the main Shi'ite bloc which resigned from parliament on Thursday.
The shooting took place on a day of mourning on which Shi'ites buried four protesters killed in the police raid on Pearl Square.
It also coincided with an appeal for calm and dialogue from the crown prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa. "I respect Wefaq, as I respect others. Today is the time to sit down and hold a dialogue, not to fight," he said on Bahrain TV.
Another Wefaq MP, Jalal Firooz, said demonstrators had been elsewhere, marking the death of a protester killed earlier this week when riot police fired tear gas at protesters.
The crowd then made for Pearl Square, where army troops who took it over after the police raid opened fire, Firooz said.
Police had no immediate comment. Witnesses said about 20 police cars had driven to the square after the initial shooting.
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