Unrest in Awwamiya

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Unrest in Awwamiya

Saudi Arabia promised to use “iron fist” against those who attacked the security forces during a demonstration in Awwamiya, a little Shiite Muslim town in the east. 11 security troops were attacked and injured in this town as they were attempting to disperse a small protest.

Saudi interior ministry accused an unidentified foreign country of attempting to destabilize the kingdom by using violence such as the one in Awwamiya, when security forces were attacked from side streets by assailants who used machine guns and Molotov cocktails.

The interior ministry spokesman said that it was not a confrontation between the police and the people and expressed hope that such an action would not be repeated.

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula and the world’s largest oil exporter. The kingdom has been spared the Arab Spring that engulfed all the neighboring countries, because the king promised social reforms soon after the first signs of unrest appeared in the neighboring states.

The king promised to increase the spending by $130 billion so that many economic reforms be implemented and people feel a social protection. Furthermore, the Saudi king has recently announced that the women would be allowed to participate in elections, with a prospect of them being even allowed to drive.

Rallies were organized early in the year in Saudi Arabia, but they lacked the intensity and the violence of those in Yemen or Bahrain. On that occasion, Saudi Arabia joined the Sunni countries in the region that accused Iran of plotting against the Sunni countries.

Conversely, Iran is accusing the Sunni regimes in these countries of practicing discriminations against the Shiite Muslims.

Analysts consider that the use of motorcycles to attack the security forces is something new for Saudi Arabia, and that the situation in Awwamyia could be indicative of the fact that the Shiite towns of the country could begin to simmer up, causing the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran to further deteriorate.

The Saudi Shiite communities are located in the east oil-producing region, and according to a US human rights report they have been discriminated politically, economically, socially, legally and religiously with the consent of the government.

The tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran is not entirely religiously motivated, part of it being determined by the oil competition between the two countries. Thus, while Saudi Arabia was able to extract 9.8 million barrels of oil in one day in September, Iran produced only 3.6 million barrels a day.

Saudi interior ministry said that the families of the people living in that part of the country, whose loyalty to the country is not doubted, must take responsibility toward their sons so that they don’t end up bearing the legal consequences of antinational actions.

Saudi Arabia led the Gulf armada that helped the Bahrain king simmer down the unrest in his own country, where a Sunni royal family is ruling a Shiite majority. Hundreds of people were detained on that occasion, while more than 35 people were killed.

There are analysts that consider that what happened in Awwamyia was just the response for the crackdown on Bahrain.

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