Saudi Forces Kill 3 Citizens in Shiite-Populated City (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Saudi regime forces, as part of their ongoing crackdown on Shiite Muslims in the oil-rich kingdom, killed three citizens in al-Awamiyah in Eastern Province, media reports said on Saturday.
In an attack on a neighborhood in Awamiyah in the al-Qatif region by the Saudi security forces, three people were martyred and several others were injured, according to the Arabic-language al-Alam News Network.
The Riyadh regime’s fresh raids on the residents of the restive district of Awamiyah have continued for a second day, according to the report.
Al-Awamiyah, a town of 30,000 in the Shiite-majority Qatif district, was the home of Nimr al-Nimr, a Shiite cleric put to death in January last year over trumped-up charges.
The Shiite-populated Eastern Province has been the scene of peaceful demonstrations since February 2011. Protesters have been demanding reforms, freedom of expression, the release of political prisoners, and an end to economic and religious discrimination against the oil-rich region.
The protests have been met with a heavy-handed crackdown by the regime.