Libyan rebels take Ajdabiya ,Libya Revolution 2011

Libyan rebels take Ajdabiya ,Libya Revolution 2011

The rebels are now advancing toward the key oil town of Brega to launch a new offensive [AFP]

Libyan rebels have taken the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya from government control, our correspondent there reported.
"There is no doubt about it, you can probably hear some of the celebrations behind me, Ajdabiya is in opposition hands," Al Jazeera's James Bays said from the city on Saturday.
"Gaddafi forces have been controlling the ring road that goes around Ajdabiya ... that has been the situation for six days, but they have now been cleared from that position."

"The opposition forces tell me there may be some pro-Gaddafi forces hiding, snipers possibly on buildings, they are telling us to take care," he said, but he added that Ajdabiya was "firmly back under the control of opposition fighters".
Rebel fighters were now reportedly on their way to the key oil port town of Brega, where Gaddafi forces have retreated, witnesses said.

"The road is open beyond Ajdabiya, and [the rebels] are heading, streaming along that road ... they are on the road and they are moving forward," Bays reported.
On Friday, western warplanes bombed Gaddafi's tanks and artillery outside the town to break the battlefield stalemate and help rebels retake the town.

Many fighters belonging to forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi were also taken hostage by rebels.
Plumes of smoke filled the sky as the pace of coalition air strikes escalated, forcing terrified residents to flee Ajdabiya, which is 160km south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Misurata fighting
Forces loyal to Gaddafi shelled an area on the outskirts of the city of Misurata on Friday, killing six people including three children, a rebel said.
The port city has experienced some of the heaviest fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Gaddafi since the uprising began on February 16.

Officials and rebels said aid organisations were able to deliver some supplies to Misurata.
"There is a fairly regular supply going into Misurata," Simon Brooks, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross operations in eastern Libya, told Reuters.
"But we are deeply concerned about the reports we are receiving about fighting in the city."
Casualties have overwhelmed the local medical clinic and prompted international concern about the safety of civilians.
Residents say electricity, water and regular land and cell phone service to Misurata are not functioning. Reports from the city cannot be verified independently because Libyan authorities have prevented journalists from going there.

'Focused mission'
Meanwhile, Barack Obama, the US president has said the military mission in Libya is clear, focused and limited.

"Because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians - innocent men, women and children - have been saved," he said in a radio address on Saturday.
The African Union on its part said it plans to facilitate talks to help end the conflict.
"The AU action is ... aiming at facilitating dialogue between the Libyan parties on reforms to be launched to
eliminate the root causes of the conflict," the union's commission chairman Jean Ping told a meeting on Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He said that the process should end with democratic elections in Libya.
It was the first statement by the AU, which had rejected any form of foreign intervention in the Libya crisis, since the UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone last week and a Western coalition began air strikes on Libyan military targets.

Libya's delegation to the meeting, at which the rebels were not represented, called for an end to air strikes and said the government was committed to upholding a ceasefire it declared on Sunday.
The delegation said Tripoli is ready to implement an AU roadmap to resolve the Libyan crisis, while also demanding a halt to the Western-led coalition's military intervention.
The AU roadmap calls for an immediate end to all hostilities, "cooperation on the part of the relevant Libyan authorities to facilitate humanitarian aid," and "protection for all foreign nationals, including African migrant workers."

'Freelance foreign policy'
Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera's correspondent in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, said it was not the first time that a Libyan delegation "conducted a little freelance foreign policy on the sideline" and that there was no way of telling if the offer was sincere.
"In much the same way we had the foreign ministry go out on a limb a few days ago and say that they declared a ceasefire," she said.
"That was in complete contradiction of the facts on the ground and also the rhetoric coming from Colonel Gaddafi himself who wasn’t saying anything to do with a ceasefire.
"He was saying: We'll fight to the death; we'll chase you into your homes. We'll pursue this war to the end."
A rebel spokesman in Benghazi said they weren't consulted in this initiative. Some reports say they were not even invited to the meeting, while others say they were but refused to go. Some others are saying there are no opening for negotiations and that they simply want the bombing to stop and Gaddafi and his family to leave.

However, diplomatic efforts may be sidelined, if a Washington Post report with respect to US and NATO considering arming the Libyan opposition is confirmed.

The newspaper, citing unamed US and European officials, said that the Obama administration believes the UN resolution that authorised international intervention in Libya has the "flexibility" to allow such assistance.

According to it, Gene Cretz, the recently withdrawn US ambassador to Libya, said administration officials were having "the full gamut" of discussions on "potential assistance we might offer, both on the non-lethal and the lethal side".

Libya Revolution 2011,Libya rebels recapture key town

 

Libyan rebels backed by extensive allied air raids have seized control of the frontline oil town of Ajdabiya from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Insurgents have been celebrating amid the ruins of tanks and artillery pieces left behind after air strikes.
Gaddafi loyalists seized the town last week as they advanced east to quell an uprising which began in mid-February.
A Libyan minister said the army had left the town after the "heavy involvement" of western forces.
Saturday's breakthrough came after a seventh night of bombardment by allies enforcing a UN-mandated no-fly zone.
British RAF Tornado aircraft have been firing Brimstone guided missiles at Gaddafi forces in recent days around Ajdabiya, a town of about 100,000 people.
The BBC's Ben Brown, in Ajdabiya, says those strikes seemed to be even heavier overnight.
Gaddafi 'promotes everyone' He counted about two dozen Libyan government tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery pieces which have been either abandoned or destroyed at the eastern gate of the town.

There is even more wrecked weaponry at the western gate and lots of bodies of Gaddafi fighters, our correspondent has been told.

People have been standing on abandoned Gaddafi tanks, firing guns into air, dancing in the streets and blaring car horns, he adds.
Some of them chanted "Thank you, Obama", "Thank you, Cameron" - references to the US president and British prime minister.
The rebels say they are going through the town street by street trying to make sure there are no Gaddafi fighters or snipers left.
Reuters news agency, which earlier said the town's western gate was still in the hands of Gaddafi forces, later quoted a Libyan government official as admitting they had abandoned the town.
"They [Western forces] were heavily involved, so the Libyan armed forces decided to leave Ajdabiya this morning," Khaled Kaim, a deputy foreign minister, told reporters.
Large explosions were also heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Saturday morning.
Witnesses said a military radar site was set on fire in that city's suburb of Tajura, a previous target of the air raids.
In his weekly address, US President Barack Obama said that the "clear and focused" military mission in Libya was succeeding.
"Make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians - innocent men, women and children - have been saved," he said.
Col Gaddafi is meanwhile said to have ordered a universal promotion for everyone in the army and police, and proposed arming civilian volunteers.
The BBC's Kevin Connolly in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi says the administration's latest move smacks of desperation.
Pro-Gaddafi forces are still trying to recapture Misrata, the last major western Libyan town in rebel hands, and residents reported shelling continuing there late on Friday.

 

Yemen news, Yemen Revolution, Thousands in Yemen march against Saleh

Yemen news, Yemen Revolution, Thousands in Yemen march against Saleh 

Tens of thousands of protesters are on the streets of Sanaa, Yemen's capital, to call for an end to Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule, as the embattled president said he would only hand over power "to capable, responsible hands".

Addressing a large rally of his own supporters in a speech carried on state TV earlier on Friday, Saleh said he was ready to meet with protesters, but warned that those demanding his resignation had been influenced by the Houthis - an armed Shia Zaidi group demanding autonomy in the country's north - and "drug dealers".
Saleh was president of North Yemen until its 1990 unification with the south - and has ruled the country since.
But Al Jazeera's special correspondent, reporting from the capital's Change (Taghyir) Square - where 52 protesters were killed last Friday - said little new was offered in the speech; on one hand, warning and threatening those standing against him, and on the other, promising reforms and saying he would listen to the demands of the people.

Soldiers who have abandoned the president and were deployed to protect protesters in the square shot in the air to disperse groups of Saleh supporters who were attempting to reach the protest after the president's speech. 

Our correspondent added that protesters said a sniper had shot and injured one of the soldiers guarding the square.

'Peace, stability and security'
Saleh said the gathered crowds before him came "under no orders from any political party or any leader, you came of your own free will, based on your patriotic responsibility, from all corners of the country, on this great day – the Friday of peace, stability and security".
He continued: "Yes to stability and security, no to chaos and vandalism, no to creating chaos, no to pillage and assault on government institutions. No to pillage of the country’s riches. To those who are protesting – you did not contribute to the country’s achievements".

Criticising the media, the Houthis and other political parties, Saleh said protest organisers were "adventurous conspirators" who were "acting out of malice".

But he added to those taking part in demonstrations: "My fellow citizens, those holding the sit-ins, I am prepared to sit with you and to respond to each one of your demands. You should not be a vehicle for the malicious to ruin every great aspect of life ... the country is a trust and responsibility for you.

"We need to hand over the banner of rule to honest hands, capable hands - not malicious hands. We are prepared to give up power, but only to good people, after elections. We are against chaos and mayhem. The demonstrators in [Change] Square are targeted by the Houthis and drug traffickers."

Protesters undeterred
But, at the protesters' rally across the city, where tens of thousands of people gathered for Friday prayers in front of Sanaa university, the positive mood remained unchanged, said our correspondent.

"In some way, he is playing to some peoples' fears, that, after Saleh leaves, there will be some kind of military rule and that there are political aspirations behind the defections from the army - despite the fact that Ali Mohsen, the key general who defected earlier this week, has said very clearly that if he wanted to take power, he would have done so decades ago - and that he has no political aspirations," said Al Jazeera's reporter in Sanaa.

"What the people really want to see is for a five-man presidential council to take control in the interim period, until elections can be held - because they simply don't believe that if elections are held under the current regime that they will be free and fair."

Earlier in the day, the city had split, with water cannon reportedly mounted on the side of the dividing line that holds the presidential palace - itself surrounded by Saleh's republican guard. It threatened to be a flashpoint for violence if protesters attempted to march, as many expected they would, the 5km to the palace.

Defecting general
General Ali Mohsen has thrown his weight behind the protesters and sent troops to protect pro-democracy protesters in Sanaa. He said the options before Saleh were now few, and criticised what he described as Saleh's "stubbornness", but said the armed forces were committed to protecting protesters.
He also said military rule in Arab countries was outdated and that the people would decide who would govern them in the framework of a modern, civilian state.
Mohsen, commander of the northwest military zone and Saleh's kinsman from the al-Ahmar clan, is the most senior military officer to back the protests, and his move on Monday triggered a stream of defections in the military and government, adding momentum to the opposition movement.

Previous offer rejected
On Thursday night, opposition groups dismissed Saleh's offer to stand down after a presidential election at the end of the year, stepping up efforts to remove him from power.
Yassin Noman, head of Yemen's opposition coalition, dismissed Saleh's earlier offer as "empty words" and a spokesman said the umbrella coalition would not respond.
"No dialogue and no initiatives for this dead regime," opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry said on Thursday.

Protesters are demanding a new constitution and the dissolution of parliament, local councils and the notorious state security agencies - as well as the immediate resignation of President Saleh.
Saleh offered amnesty to defecting troops, calling their decisions "foolish acts", taken in reaction to last Friday's deaths.

Syria News, Syria Revolution, Deaths as Syrian forces fire on protesters

Syria News, Syria Revolution, Deaths as Syrian forces fire on protesters

 

The bloody crackdown on protesters in Syria has left dozens dead as President Bashar al-Assad faces the greatest challenge to his 11-year rule.

Security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the city of Sanamin near Daraa on Friday, killing at least 20 people, according to one witness.
"There are more than 20 martyrs .... they [security forces] opened fire haphazardly," the witness told Al Jazeera on Friday.
Rula Amin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Damascus, said Syrian forces apparently fired after protesters set fire to a statue of the late president, Hafez al-Assad.

also showed protesters in the cental square of Daraa dismantling a portrait of his son, Bashar al-Assad, the current president.
Reuters reported that heavy gunfire could be heard in the southern city of Daraa, the focal point for demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad's regime in recent days.
Three people were also reported killed in Mouadamieh district of Damascus after a crowd confronted a procession of cars driven by supporters of president Bashar al-Assad, residents said, according to Reuters.

Regime supporters take to streets
But regime supporters also took to the streets in sizeable numbers on Friday, waving flags and images of al-Assad. A large crowd gathered in the evening outside Al Jazeera's bureau in Damascus, demanding to be shown on the network.
"Thousands and thousands are now out in the streets of the capital, driving around the capital, showing their support for President Aasad. There is no doubt the president does have support in this country. Bashar al-Assad is a popular leader," said Al Jazeera's correspondent Zeina Khodr.
But Anas al-Abda, the chairman of the Movement for Justice and Development in Syria, told Al Jazeera that pro-government demonstrations were "most probably fabricated and organised by the regime".
Earlier, Reem Haddad, from the Syrian information ministry, told Al Jazeera that security forces had been given the order not to shoot at protesters "no matter what happens".
"But things took on a different hue because inside these peaceful demonstrations there was another group of people who were armed ... and were shooting at the security forces and were shooting at other citizens in Daraa. At the end of the day this became a matter of national security."

But an eyewitness told Al Jazeera that "there were no people carrying arms among demonstrators".

"What happened in the square ... was live ammunition, I was present myself and I saw the youth and other young demonstrators leading a peaceful demonstration.

"They were chanting slogans calling for freedom and transparency and an end [to] corruption."

'Day of dignity'
The latest clashes come after protesters demanding greater freedom called for a "day of dignity" on Friday following a week-long crackdown by pro-regime forces that has left dozens dead.
At least 200 people marched in the centre of Damascus after Friday prayers in support of the people of Daraa, scene of protests against Baath Party rule, Reuters reported.

Protests spread across Syria, with rallies also held in the central city of Hama and in Tel, near Damascus. According to our correspondent, numbers at these rallies ranged from hundreds of people to thousands.

Daraa, the main city of southern Syria, has become a flashpoint for protests. Officials have been on the defensive after protesters in the southern city were shot dead by police.

The crackdown has already attracted the attention of the United Nations with human rights commissioner Navi Pillay calling for an investigation and an immediate halt to violence, a message echoed by Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General.
Human rights group Amnesty International said on Friday that at least 55 people had been killed since protests erupted.
The US on Friday called on the Syrian government to end the use of violence against protesters and the arrests of human rights activists.
"We strongly condemn the Syrian government's attempts to repress and intimidate demonstrators," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Britain also expressed concern. "I call on the Syrian government to respect the people’s right to peaceful protest and to address their legitimate grievances. I call for restraint on all sides but in particular from the Syrian security forces. Violence is never the right answer to these situations." said Alistair Burt, a foreign office minister.
On Thursday, Syrian government announced that it would "study" ending emergency rule - in place since 1963 - and look into legalising political parties.
The current emergency law allows people to be arrested without warrants and imprisoned without trial.

US, UK and France attack Gaddafi forces in libya

US, UK and France attack Gaddafi forces in libya

The UK, US and France have attacked Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the first action to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone.

Pentagon officials say the US and the UK have fired more than 110 missiles, while French planes struck pro-Gaddafi forces attacking rebel-held Benghazi.

Col Gaddafi has vowed retaliation and said he would open arms depots to the people to defend Libya.
Cruise missiles hit air-defence sites in the capital, Tripoli, and Misrata.

Libyan state TV said 48 people had been killed and 150 wounded in the attacks. There was no independent confirmation of the deaths.

A French plane fired the first shots against Libyan government targets at 1645 GMT on Saturday, destroying a number of military vehicles, according to a military spokesman.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed that British planes are in action over Libya.

US President Barack Obama, speaking during a visit to Brazil, said the US was taking "limited military action" as part of a "broad coalition".

"We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy," he said.
He repeated that no US ground troops would take part.
After the missile bombardment and the air strikes, Col Gaddafi made a brief speech calling on people to resist.
"Civilian and military targets in the air and sea will be liable to serious danger in the Mediterranean," he said.
"Arms depots are now open and the masses are being equipped with all sorts of weapons in defence of Libya's independence, unity and honour," the Libyan leader warned.
He called the attacks "a colonialist crusade of aggression. This can lead to open a new crusade war."
The BBC's Kevin Connolly, in the rebel-held eastern city of Tobruk, says it is now clear that Col Gaddafi's strategy is to portray the attacks as an act of colonialist aggression and rally enough of the Libyan people behind him to maintain his grip on power.
'Necessary' The UK Ministry of Defence said a British submarine and a number of Tornado jets had fired missiles at Libyan military targets.

Mr Cameron said that launching military action against Libya was "necessary, legal and right".
Libyan state TV reported that what it called the "crusader enemy" had bombed civilian areas of Tripoli, as well as fuel storage tanks supplying the western city of Misrata.
Sources in Tripoli told BBC Arabic that the attacks on the city had so far targeted the eastern areas of Sawani, Airport Road, and Ghasheer. These are all areas believed to host military bases.
Shortly after 0200 Libyan time (0000 GMT) on Sunday morning, heavy bursts of anti-aircraft fire arced into the sky above Tripoli and several explosions were heard.

The strikes on Misrata targeted a military airbase, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting two residents who denied the state TV reports that fuel stores were hit.

The cruise missiles were fired from one British submarine and a number of American destroyers and subs, said a Pentagon official.
The missiles hit more than 20 air-defence sites along the Mediterranean coast, said Navy Vice Adm William E Gortney.
The action came hours after Western and Arab leaders met in Paris to agree how to enforce the UN resolution, which allows "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from forces loyal to Col Gaddafi.
Our correspondent in Tobruk says that once the air-defence systems are taken out, combat aircraft can patrol and it will then become clear to what extent they will attack Col Gaddafi's ground forces. It is this that will determine the outcome of the campaign, he adds.
Benghazi battle Earlier on Saturday, pro-Gaddafi forces attacked Benghazi despite declaring a ceasefire a day earlier.
Reports from the city said that government tanks and artillery had bombarded the city and there was fighting around the university.

Rebels in the city said thousands of people were fleeing the attack, heading east, and the UN refugee agency said it was preparing to receive 200,000 refugees from Libya.
Journalists later said the bombardment ended in the late afternoon and that rebel forces remained in control of Benghazi.
The Libyan government blamed the rebels for breaking the ceasefire and said its forces had fought back in self-defence.
French planes are reported to have hit government tanks and armoured vehicles around Benghazi.
French planes also flew reconnaissance missions over "all Libyan territory", military sources in Paris said earlier.
In addition, Canada is sending warplanes to the region, while Italy has offered the use of its military bases. A naval blockade against Libya is also being put in place.
The international community was intervening to stop the "murderous madness" of Col Gaddafi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
"In Libya, the civilian population, which is demanding nothing more than the right to choose their own destiny, is in mortal danger," he warned. "It is our duty to respond to their anguished appeal."
Shortly after the airstrikes began, Libyan state TV said a French plane had been shot down near Tripoli. However, French military officials said all their planes had returned safely.
Col Gaddafi has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. An uprising against him began last month after the long-time leaders of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were toppled.

French plane fires on military vehicle in libya , libya news

French plane fires on military vehicle in libya , libya news

A French plane has fired the first shots in Libya as enforcement of the UN-mandated no-fly zone begins.

The UK prime minister later confirmed British planes were also in action, while US media reports said the US had fired its first Cruise missiles.
The action came hours after Western and Arab leaders met in Paris to agree how to enforce the UN resolution.
It allows "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces.
'Stop the bombardment' The French plane fired the first shot in Libya at 1645 GMT and destroyed its target, according to a military spokesman.
French planes also flew reconnaissance missions over "all Libyan territory", French military sources said earlier.
Around 20 French aircraft were involved in Saturday's operation, the Reuters news agency reports.

French jets "destroyed a number of tanks and armoured vehicles", a defence ministry official told Reuters, adding that he could not immediately confirm the number.

Other air forces and navies are expected to join the French.
The US would use its "unique capabilities" to reinforce the no-fly zone, said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, warning that further delays would put more civilians at risk. However, Mrs Clinton said again that the US would not deploy ground troops in Libya.
A naval blockade is also being put in place, said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. France is sending its Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Libyan coast, a military spokesman said.
In other developments:

• Italy has offered the use of seven of its military bases which already house US, Nato and Italian forces
• Canada says its fighter jets have now reached the region but will need two days to prepare for any missions

Earlier, pro-Gaddafi forces had attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi - although the Libyan government denied launching any assault.
The international community was intervening to stop the "murderous madness" of Col Gaddafi, Mr Sarkozy said.
"In Libya, the civilian population, which is demanding nothing more than the right to choose their own destiny, is in mortal danger," he warned. "It is our duty to respond to their anguished appeal."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Libya's claims to have implemented a ceasefire were "troubling", the AFP news agency reported.
The lack of confidence was so great that he did not trust what the Libyan leadership was saying, Mr Ban added.
Russia regretted the decision by Western powers to take military action, a foreign ministry spokesman said. Russia abstained from the UN vote on the Libya resolution, but did not use its veto.
The rebels' leader had earlier appealed to the international community to stop the bombardment by pro-Gaddafi forces.

A jet also appears to have been shot down over Benghazi. A rebel spokesman was quoted as saying the downed jet was a rebel plane.
Reports from Benghazi suggest hundreds of cars packed with people were fleeing eastwards as fighting spread.
The United Nations refugee agency says it is preparing to receive 200,000 people fleeing the fighting, amid reports of hundreds of cars full of people heading for the Egyptian border, while others are attempting to flee on foot.
The first families had arrived at the Egyptian border, extremely frightened and traumatised, saying some of their homes have been completely flattened said UNHCR spokeswoman Elizabeth Tan.
However, the BBC's Ben Brown, who is at the border, says so far there are a handful of families, in addition to the migrant workers who have been there since the crisis started.

Bahrain tears down protest symbol ,Bahrain Revolution

Bahrain tears down protest symbol ,Bahrain Revolution

Authorities in Bahrain have torn down the statue at the centre of Pearl roundabout in the capital, Manama, where pro-democracy protests were held for weeks.
The concrete statue of six dhow sails holding up a pearl was demolished using drills and diggers on Friday.
The move came as security forces launched a crackdown on the protest camp, with thousands defying a ban on public gatherings to mourn the death of a protester during the recent violence.

Bahrain has arrested seven opposition leaders after weeks of protests that saw martial law being declared and troops from Saudi Arabia entering the tiny kingdom.
Weeks of protests – sometimes in violent clashes with security forces – by the Shia majority slid into sectarian violence and crippled the economy.

On Friday Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, Bahrain's foreign minister, said the demolition of the statue was an effort to erase "bad memories".
He reiterated Bahrain's commitment to talks with the opposition but said security was a priority, and that three or four Gulf states were sending troops and will remain in the city until order is restored.

Speaking to reporters in Manama, Sheikh Khaled said their role will be limited to guarding strategic assets such as oil facilities, and they will not be involved in quelling protests.

Limited role

"We look with all confidence to the return of normal life in Bahrain," he said. "We know dialogue is our path."
Denying there was any "systematic violence against the people" Sheikh Khaled said the royals had done their utmost to push for dialogue, allowing protests and offering assurances, but the opposition had rejected talks and started blocking main streets, while civilians began to clash daily.
"In volatile situations you do expect violence to happen but there is no systematic violence against the people," he added.

In all, three protesters have died in the security sweep. Three policemen were also killed, hit by cars driven by demonstrators.
Thousands of angry mourners buried an activist killed in a crackdown that has angered Iran and raised tension in the world's largest oil-exporting region.

Sheikh Issa Qassim, Bahrain's most influential Shia cleric, said during Friday sermon that Gulf troops would have been better off helping Palestinians in Gaza than entering Bahrain.
"The violence of the authorities has created a deep, wide and dangerous wound between the government and people," he said.

"The government wants to break our will so we give up our calls for substantial and meaningful reforms, but they will never break our will. They can use tanks and planes to smash our bodies but will never break our souls and our will for reforms."

Psychological victory
The statue that was demolished comprised six sails symbolising each of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, holding up a pearl, symbol of the pearl fishing heritage that was the economic mainstay of the region before the discovery of oil.
"It is a kind of psychological victory for the protesters," said Hussein Oraibi, who works in telecommunications.

"It upset them so much that people were gathering there, they had to go out of their way to pull this down and change the traffic directions."
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Bahrain, speaking anonymously for safety reasons, said the monument "was the centre of the protests for a month; it was seen as being symbolic of anti-government sentiment.
"It seems rather strange that by removing it there is the thought that that symbolism will disappear ... [The destruction] is very symbolic of that final stage in the last couple of days of this huge great crackdown on the opposition."


More than 60 per cent of Bahrainis are Shia, and most are campaigning for a constitutional monarchy.
But calls by hardliners for the overthrow of the monarchy have alarmed Sunnis, who fear the unrest serves Iran, separated from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain by only a short stretch of Gulf waters.
Shia Muslim power Iran, which supports Shia groups in Iraq and Lebanon, complained to the United Nations and asked other neighbours to join it in urging Saudi Arabia to withdraw from Bahrain.
In a sign of rising tension, Bahrain condemned Iran for what it says is interference in the country's internal affairs.