MANAMA, Bahrain – Bahrains Sunni monarchy detained at least seven prominent opposition activists Thursday, and Iran recalled its ambassador to protest the Gulf troops backing the government against the Shiite protests that forced martial law-style rule in the island nation. Bahrains government is gambling that it can survive the sectarian faultlines that splinter the region, with Sunni leaders in the Gulf sending forces to bolster a regime that they — and the U.S. — see as a bulwark against Shiite Irans expanding military ambitions.
The Sunni monarchy and its backers are using everything at their disposal to retain power, while Shiites hope their overwhelming population advantage will be their most potent weapon to bring the leadership to its knees. Clashes broke out in a village on the outskirts of the capital Manama.
In Brussels, the European Union and NATO urged Bahrains authorities to refrain from violence and try to settle the crisis through dialogue. But Bahrains ruling system — which once appealed for negotiations — now appears to be shifting to efforts to crush the opposition.
Bahrains crackdown widened with the detention of at least seven activists, a rights group and relatives of the arrested said. Bahrain has imposed a three-month emergency rule that gives the military wide powers to battle the pro-democracy uprising that began in mid-February in the strategic nation, which hosts the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet. Security forces had an overwhelming presence in parts of central Manama, a day after overrunning a protesters camp in the capital and clashing with Shiites elsewhere. At least five people were killed — two policemen and three protesters — in Wednesdays assault on the encampment in Pearl Square, according to opposition groups and the government.