king declared a three-month state of emergency Tuesday in an effort to
quell a month-old uprising as rival groups of protesters and gangs set
up more checkpoints around the capital.
The move by
An announcement by
official news agency said the king had declared the state of emergency
“in light of the latest security escalations” and had delegated to the
commander in chief of
Few military units, either from
reported that a Saudi sergeant had been shot to death by a protester,
according to Saudi security official. The report could not be
immediately confirmed.
shaken by weeks of protests as the nation’s Shiite Muslim majority has
taken to the streets to complain of unfair treatment at the hands of
the Sunni-dominated government.
In neighborhoods populated largely by Sunnis, young
men carrying sticks and metal rods, many with their faces covered,
blocked roads and examined cars. At several checkpoints, the gangs
stood next to
“We are defending our homes from the Shia people,”
said one young man carrying a wooden club, who declined to give his
name. He and several associates had blocked a road in the suburb of
Riffa, a largely Sunni neighborhood where several palaces used by the
ruling family are located.
Nearby, a
Near Pearl roundabout, the traffic circle occupied
by Shiite demonstrators since last month, protesters had established
their own barricades. Most cars were being allowed to pass. Several
young men said they were prepared to block police or military units
from entering the area, though no security forces were visible on the
streets.
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(c) 2011, Tribune Co.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.