Saudi police kill 2, injure 9 in Qatif protests

Saudi security forces killed two and injured 9 in a new round of police clampdown on protesters in the Eastern parts of the country. The demonstrators had gathered in the city centre for the funerals of two people killed during rallies last week. Security forces cracked down on protesters once again; two people were killed and nine were injured. Amateur videos released to the media showed shocking scenes of an armored vehicle trying to hit protesters following the funeral of two protesters on Wednesday in Qatif. Since March, residents of Qatif, which is a majority Shiite city, have held frequent anti-government demonstrations. Shiites have been marginalized in Saudi Arabia at every level: religious, political and social. Moktar B. (not his real name) is one of our Observers in Qatif. "I have been in Qatif since the start of the demonstrations and have taken part in most of them. What I can say is it's unusual for security forces to use such violence as they did on Wednesday. As people left the cemetery after the two protesters' funeral, a group of people started shouting anti-government slogans." Very quickly, the police moved in, as you can see in images. The two people who died were shot at by snipers stationed in a big water tower. Then a tank arrived and began to try to mow people down. Most people ran out of the way, but in the last three seconds, the tank hit a man. Protesters are mostly the youth between 20 and 30 years old. They are unemployed and feel marginalized by the authorities. All people are asking for is that their rights be respected. Since the start of the unrest in March, protesters have demanded that political prisoners be freed. They have been imprisoned without trial and for no reason, some for as long as 15 years. Since the start of the protests, checkpoints have been set up throughout the city. There are tanks, jeeps and soldiers with automatic guns. Residents do not understand why their movements are being limited in this way. The police are arresting a lot of young people, in particular. Young people spend hours at police checkpoints before they can enter or leave the city. Of course, this only fires up the youth even more." During the funeral procession for two protesters killed on Wednesday, people chanted slogans against the Saudi royal family.