An armoured vehicle tries to run over protesters in Saudi Arabia

Amateur footage shows an armoured vehicle deliberately trying to hit protesters in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Qatif on Wednesday. Our Observer told us that this kind of violence is unprecedented in Saudi Arabia. Similar incidents have, however, recently taken place in Bahrain and Egypt.

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 injured. In a statement, the Interior Ministry said “these losses took place during an exchange of gunfire with unidentified criminals who infiltrated the population and opened fire from residential areas.” According to the Interior Ministry, two of the injured were policemen.

An armoured vehicle tries 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 represent just 10 percent of the total population, and are considered to be heretics by the country’s Sunni leaders. They are marginalised at every level: religious, political and social.

"Snipers were stationed in the big water tower that can be seen in the background of the video"

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 the images. According to my sources, the two people who died were shot at by snipers stationed in the big water tower that can be seen in the background of the video. Then an armoured vehicle arrived and began to try to mow people down. Most people ran out of the way, but in the last three seconds, you can see the armoured vehicle hit a man. [Editor’s Note: It is not clear from the video whether the armoured vehicle actually hit a person or an object].

Authorities said the two people that died on Wednesday were killed in an exchange of fire between criminals, but I don’t believe that. I know people who went to protest – they are young, mostly between 20 and 30 years old. They are unemployed and feel marginalized by the authorities. I tried to find out who the leader of the movement was, but there is none. Since the beginning of the unrest, I haven’t seen any armed protesters.

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.

Comments

Sell out.

Submitted by xolile (not verified) on Sun, 04/12/2011 - 07:11.

Saudi Arabia,Jordaan,Kuwait and Turkye is the biggest sell outs of their own Arab and Muslim brothers blood.After the defeat by the Israelis in 1967 the only way how their can please the West and buy face is do open their airspaces for the West to kill the Arabs and the Muslims brothers.How Can you open the door for the enemy to kill you brother. This is exactly what Kain did do his own brother Abel which Heavenly Father has turn down.

SAUDI ARABIA

Submitted by ABDELKADER EL HAMDAOUI (not verified) on Fri, 02/12/2011 - 10:56.

That is not a tank.

Correction

Submitted by Team Observers on Tue, 13/12/2011 - 11:28.

Thank you for pointing out this distinction. We have changed the article accordingly.

Where is the tank?

Submitted by Ralph Krueger (not verified) on Wed, 30/11/2011 - 10:50.

I have watched both videos and there was no tank in either one. There was what appeared to be an armored truck in the one video but no one could possibly confuse that as being a tank. I must say that labeling a truck as being a tank brings doubt upon the entire report since that would be like headlining a story "80,000 pound articulated lorry hits house" and showing a picture of a pickup truck imbedded in a house. Kindly be a bit more careful with your terminology as errors such as this leaves you wide open to the nay sayers.

Reply to comment | The Observers

Submitted by bingo jackpotjoy (not verified) on Thu, 07/06/2012 - 16:16.

Sir Winston Leonard Spenser Churchill: "My wife and I tried to breakfast together, but we had to stop or our marriage would have been wrecked."

Either way you'd be

Submitted by notyourusername (not verified) on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 20:19.

Either way you'd be dead......

No tank, but...

Submitted by Old Rockin' Dave (not verified) on Thu, 01/12/2011 - 21:02.

I thought I could be pedantic. Most people can't tell the difference between a tank and some other kind of armored fighting vehicle even though you and I can. While I agree that it's important to get the technical terms right, that error doesn't call the whole account into question; the video speaks for itself. While it's an error, it's a distinction without an important difference. It's more like saying "Nissan Pathfinder hits house" when the video shows it's actually a Toyota 4Runner or :Dump truck hits house" when it's really a cement mixer. The outcome matters more than that one specific detail. What counts is that a large armored police vehicle of whatever class was used in what appears to be an attempt to run over unarmed protesters.