MANAMA, March 5, 2011 (AFP) - A Bahraini Shiite opposition leader called for Sunni-Shiite harmony as thousands of protesters marched in Manama on Friday, a day after residents of a town south of the capital reported sectarian clashes.
"I will consider any attack against anyone in this country as an attack against me," Sheikh Ali Salman, the head of the Islamic National Accord Association (INAA), the main Shiite political formation, told thousands of demonstrators marching on the King Faisal Corniche in Manama.
Shiites should guarantee the safety of every Sunni family, and Sunnis should do the same for the Shiites, Salman said.
The demonstrators massed at the compound where the tiny Gulf kingdom's foreign ministry is located and marched along the corniche toward Pearl Square.
The square, where demonstrators keep vigil in hundreds of tents, has become the epicentre of protests that began on February 14 against the Shiite-majority country's Sunni dynasty, which has ruled for over 200 years.
"The people want to topple the government!" chanted the protesters, in a variation on their usual refrain of the "the people want to topple the regime."Salman's remarks came after residents of Hamad Town, south of Manama, said police had intervened to break up Sunn-Shiite clashes late Thursday, the first such incident since protests began.
Local pro-government daily Al-Ayam said an assault on a young girl who was leaving school provoked the clashes.
Alerted by text messages, supporters from both sides gathered in the area and fought with sticks, before the police intervened with tear gas, said the daily, which reported that two were injured.
Residents said the Sunnis were naturalised Syrians.
Egypt ex-interior minister denies criminal charges
CAIRO, March 5 (AFP) - Egypt's once feared former interior minister Habib al-Adly pleaded not guilty to corruption charges on Saturday, in the first trial of a member of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime.
Standing in the dock and dressed in white prison clothes, Adly denied accusations of money laundering and unlawful acquisition of public money. “It didn't happen,” he said twice, in a calm tone.
Judge Al-Mohammadi Qunsua swiftly adjourned the hearing to April 2, after a heated exchange between the defence team and civil society lawyers attending the trial.
The defence had asked for more time to study the documents of the case.
Cairo's criminal court in the Tagammu Khames suburb was surrounded by heavy security and army tanks were positioned at the entrance ahead of the high profile trial.
Dozens of people had gathered outside the court complex to demand the death penalty for Adly. |
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