Bahrain 1st-Hand: Protests, Tear Gas, and Night Marching (EA Correspondent)

Candle-lit march in Sitra on Sunday night:

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An EA correspondent was present yesterday in the mass march in Bahrain that was dispersed by security forces --- he sent us a brief message, "Am fine after inhaling some tear gas." Once he had settled into his home --- or thought he had settled --- he e-mailed these reports:

9:20 p.m.: Just got back home, took a round in Sitra as usual before returning.

Sitra looked like a ghost town, especially as it's raining today, giving the whole place a very creepy appearance. Roads are totally dark, expect for the blue lights coming from  security forces' jeeps which are still driving around after attacking the protests across seven villages today.

The night sky in Sitra as people chant, "Down, down Hamad"

The afternoon protests did not stop until an hour ago, according to a friend. Roads are still blocked, except for a narrow path between the barricades and the steel trash-cans that protesters used to block police from running them over. The path is usually created by police after they tear-gas the place and trying to make space for their jeeps to get in.

11:00 p.m.: While I was on the verge of sending the above report, the sounds of the tone "Tn, Tn, Tn" got louder, mixed with people chanting, "Down Down [King] Hamad" and "Allah Akbar (God is the greatest)".

So I' put on my jeans again and went out. A small march of more than 100 youth, with a small group of women joining them, had just started in my village. I started marching and closing the roads --- which was easy, since they were already almost shut.

In 30 minutes, police showed up and attacked with tear gas, but because of the rain, the effect did not last for long and the smell was very weak. So the security forces just got back again in their jeeps and, surprisingly, departed and left us chanting, "Down down, Hamad".

We thought they might ambush from a different angle, so we decided to switch the march direction and go back from where we came, inside the village, heading to the main road.

I stayed for another 30 minutes, when I decided to go back home. I had enough of my share of tear gas and running today.

Clashes between protesters and police in Alkharijia