MANAMA, (Reuters) – The leader of Bahrain’s largest opposition group has urged Saudi Arabia to withdraw its forces and called for a U.N. inquiry into a crackdown on mainly Shi’ite protesters that has raised tensions in the oil-exporting region. Bahrain arrested seven opposition leaders yesterday, a day after its forces moved in to end weeks of pro-democracy protests that have sucked in troops from its fellow Sunni-ruled neighbour and prompted the king to declare martial law.
“The military should withdraw from Bahrain, the military of Saudi Arabia, and this is a call to the Saudi king,” Sheikh Ali Salman, head of Wefaq, told Al Jazeera television.