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Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain
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<h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p><a href="/facts/Bahraini_uprising_of_2011/0rS1jck3">Bahrain protests</a> began with the <a href="/facts/Day_of_Rage_(Bahrain)/dEhFbbgz">14 February 2011 protest</a>, mostly by the Shia Muslims making up the majority of Bahrain's population,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> which faced immediate reaction from government.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> The protests initially sought greater <a href="/facts/Political_freedom/QElv3Bmc">political freedom</a> and equality for the majority <a href="/facts/Shia/JIQl7ooz">Shia</a> population,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> and expanded to a call to end <a href="/facts/King_of_Bahrain/sMd2Ah4D">the monarchy</a> of <a href="/facts/Hamad_bin_Isa_Al_Khalifa/AWb4wt9s">Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> following a deadly night raid on 17 February 2011 against protesters at the <a href="/facts/Pearl_Roundabout/VauE5Ezc">Pearl Roundabout</a> in <a href="/facts/Manama/FrWnjoYv">Manama</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p><p>Protesters blocked roads and their sheer numbers overwhelmed the Bahrain police. The government of Bahrain requested help from neighbouring countries.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> On 14 March, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) agreed to deploy <a href="/facts/Peninsula_Shield_Force/Is98sQYG">Peninsula Shield Force</a> troops to Bahrain to secure key installations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="units-involved">Units involved</h2> <p>GCC responded to the request from Bahrain's Al-Khalifa by sending its <a href="/facts/Peninsula_Shield_Force/Is98sQYG">Peninsula Shield Force</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> The units sent from Saudi included 1,000 (1,200<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a>) troops along with 150 vehicles. The vehicles included "wheeled, light-armored vehicles with roof-mounted heavy machine guns". Saudi soldiers were apparently from <a href="/facts/Saudi_Arabian_National_Guard/1tYj00Rn">Saudi Arabian National Guard</a>, commanded by a son of King Abdullah, <a href="/facts/Prince_Miteb/MYTVyAfh">Prince Miteb</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> Also, 500 <a href="/facts/United_Arab_Emirates/o1bEjgbR">United Arab Emirates</a> (UAE) policemen were sent via the <a href="/facts/King_Fahd_Causeway/mz8G7vox">causeway</a> between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Kuwait/HJLFQ59s">Kuwait</a> sent their navy to patrol the borders of Bahrain.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> According to an Al Jazeera report, Pakistani former servicemen were recruited into the Bahraini National Guard.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> </p><p>By 2014, 5,000 Saudi and Emirati forces were positioned "less than 10 miles from the <a href="/facts/Pearl_Roundabout/VauE5Ezc">Pearl Roundabout</a>, the center of the country's protest movement".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="goals">Goals</h2> <p>Bahrain's strategic importance to Saudi Arabian government is originated from economic, sectarian and geopolitical reasons.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a> </p> <h3>Sectarian and geopolitical goals</h3> <p>The real purpose of the intervention was to stop "a growing rebellion by the kingdom's majority, but deprived ... <a href="/facts/Shia/JIQl7ooz">Shia</a> citizens" by taking all necessary measures.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29"><sup>29</sup></a> Death of an Emirati policeman, Tariq al-Shehi, made it clear that the foreign troops were in fact involved in suppressing protests.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30"><sup>30</sup></a> According to Nuruzzaman, the most important factor leading to Saudi's intervention in Bahrain,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31"><sup>31</sup></a> is "the domino effect of Bahrain's fall into Shia hands".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32"><sup>32</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33"><sup>33</sup></a> Concerned about their own Shia population<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34"><sup>34</sup></a> and fearful of democratic change, Saudi king Abdullah sought to reverse the pro-democracy movements in his neighbor countries using force.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35"><sup>35</sup></a> Saudi Arabia maintained that the cause of unrest in Saudi's eastern province, is the Shia uprising in Bahrain. According to Steffen Hertog, a Saudi Arabia expert at the <a href="/facts/London_School_of_Economics_and_Political_Science/L8SkGefj">London School of Economics and Political Science</a>, Saudi's move was a signal to Shia movements in the Eastern Province to express how seriously Saudi intended to crack down the unrest.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36"><sup>36</sup></a> Moreover, keeping Al-Khalifa, "the key conservative Sunni ally of Saudi", in power was of notable importance to Saudi to avoid the spread of <a href="/facts/Iran/24yukge8">Iran</a>'s influence in west of Gulf. Saudi Arabia acted through GCC to mask its "strategic concern" about Iran and its influence.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37"><sup>37</sup></a> </p><p>As home of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Fifth_Fleet/3Fwxp6SH">United States Fifth Fleet</a>, the events in Bahrain involved U.S. interests, too.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38"><sup>38</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39"><sup>39</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40"><sup>40</sup></a> Any Saudi departure from Bahrain and the assertion of Shia power would also directly affect U.S. interests<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41"><sup>41</sup></a> and lead to weakening United States "military posture in the region".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42"><sup>42</sup></a> </p> <h3>Economic goals</h3> <p>The intervention was apparently carried out with the aim of guarding Bahrain's oil infrastructure.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43"><sup>43</sup></a> The two kingdoms have strong economical ties and Saudi Arabia had made significant investments in Bahrain's tourism, infrastructure and industry.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44"><sup>44</sup></a> Saudi Arabia, Bahrain's largest trading partner, sent troops to Bahrain to pursue some economic goals and among the important factors leading to sending troops to Bahrain were "the possibility of the loss of oil fields, terminals and crude processing plants, the loss of investment and future investment prospects".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45"><sup>45</sup></a> Moreover, any spill over of Bahrain's unrest into the neighbor kingdom would "upend" global oil markets.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46"><sup>46</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="attacks">Attacks</h2> <p>On 3 March 2014, a remotely detonated bomb by protesters in the village of <a href="/facts/Al_Daih/vbHYqU94">Al Daih</a> killed 3 police officers. One of the police officers killed was an Emirati policeman from the <a href="/facts/Peninsula_Shield_Force/Is98sQYG">Peninsula Shield Force</a>. The two other officers killed were Bahraini policemen.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47"><sup>47</sup></a> On 15 January 2017, the Bahraini government passed a <a href="/facts/Capital_punishment/4pbmeUIb">capital punishment</a> sentence of <a href="/facts/Execution_by_firing_squad/toYkANJp">execution by firing squad</a> on three men found guilty for the bomb attack that killed the three security forces.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48"><sup>48</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="aftermath">Aftermath</h2> <p>Primarily interpreted by analysts "in terms of domestic and regional political and strategic dynamics", the intervention has created serious regional and global concerns<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49"><sup>49</sup></a> and has turned the uprising into a regional cold war. Among other factors, the foreign military intervention may drive the <a href="/facts/Sectarianism/kkPNdMeQ">sectarianism</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50"><sup>50</sup></a> According to <i><a href="/facts/Foreign_Policy/s74b9Fh9">Foreign Policy</a></i> magazine, the intervention marked "a dramatic escalation of Bahrain's political crisis."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51"><sup>51</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="reactions">Reactions</h2> <ul><li> <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">UN</a>: <a href="/facts/Ban_Ki-moon/8pbxnYhE">Ban Ki-moon</a>, the <a href="/facts/Secretary_General/3eFaJDWC">Secretary General</a> of the United Nations said that he was "troubled" by "the deployment of the Peninsula Shield Force" and that "the arrival of Saudi and UAE troops had been noted with "concern"". He asked all those involved to "exercise maximum restraint".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52"><sup>52</sup></a></li> <li> <a href="/facts/Iran/24yukge8">Iran</a>: Tehran asserted that the move was an invasion and accused the GCC of "meddling" in Bahrain's internal affairs."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53"><sup>53</sup></a></li> <li> <a href="/facts/Pakistan/cbIsvJy1">Pakistan</a>: <a href="/facts/Nawaz_Sharif/4f8ecboB">Nawaz Sharif</a>, <a href="/facts/Pakistan/cbIsvJy1">Pakistan</a>'s prime minister, supported the intervention and in his visit to Saudi Arabia he reassured that he would "help devise a new battle plan for Saudi intervention in the country".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54"><sup>54</sup></a></li> <li> <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a>: Turkish Prime Minister, <a href="/facts/Recep_Tayyip_Erdogan/7lFKaJH7">Recep Tayyip Erdogan</a>, condemned the intervention and characterized the Saudi movement as "a new <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Karbala/vwouBjKH">karbala</a>." He demanded withdrawal of Saudi forces from Bahrain.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55"><sup>55</sup></a></li> <li> <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>: A representative described the government as "shocked" by the move but opposed Iran's characterization of the intervention as an invasion.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:56" href="#fn:56"><sup>56</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Foreign_policy_of_the_Barack_Obama_administration/3D3uIzzX">The Obama administration "obliquely criticized" the action.</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:57" href="#fn:57"><sup>57</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Saudi_Arabian-led_intervention_in_Yemen/sy1ffXrP">Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Henderson, Simon. "Bahrain's Crisis: Saudi Forces Intervene". Washington Institute. Retrieved 19 March 2016. <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/bahrains-crisis-saudi-forces-intervene" target="_blank">http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/bahrains-crisis-saudi-forces-intervene</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Bronner, Ethan; Slackman, Michael (14 March 2011). "Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15bahrain.html?_r=1&hp" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15bahrain.html?_r=1&hp</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Henderson, Simon. "Bahrain's Crisis: Saudi Forces Intervene". Washington Institute. Retrieved 19 March 2016. <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/bahrains-crisis-saudi-forces-intervene" target="_blank">http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/bahrains-crisis-saudi-forces-intervene</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Bronner, Ethan; Slackman, Michael (14 March 2011). "Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15bahrain.html?_r=1&hp" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15bahrain.html?_r=1&hp</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Held, David; Ulrichsen, Kristian (2012). The transformation of the Gulf politics, economics and the global order. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-69840-8. Retrieved 20 February 2016. <a href="978-1-136-69840-8" target="_blank">978-1-136-69840-8</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Gulf States Send Force to Bahrain Following Protests". BBC News. 14 March 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12729786" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12729786</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Two Killed in Bahrain Violence Despite Martial Law". BBC News. 15 March 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12751464" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12751464</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Saudi Intervention in Bahrain". Stratfor. Retrieved 12 March 2016. <a href="https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/saudi-intervention-bahrain" target="_blank">https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/saudi-intervention-bahrain</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Seznec, Jean-François (14 March 2011). "Saudi Arabia Strikes Back". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 21 May 2016. <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/03/14/saudi-arabia-strikes-back-2/" target="_blank">https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/03/14/saudi-arabia-strikes-back-2/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Black, Ian (14 February 2011). "Arrests and Deaths as Egypt Protest Spreads Across Middle East". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/14/middle-east-iran-bahrain-yemen" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/14/middle-east-iran-bahrain-yemen</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>(in Arabic) "قتيل وأكثر من 30 مصاباً في مسيرات احتجاجية أمس". Al Wasat. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012. <a href="http://www.alwasatnews.com/3084/news/read/527311/1.html" target="_blank">http://www.alwasatnews.com/3084/news/read/527311/1.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Bahrain Shia Leaders Visit Iraq". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 January 2011. <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/bahrain-wikileaks-cables/8334600/BAHRAINS-SHIA-POLITICAL-LEADERS-VISIT-IRAQ.html" target="_blank">https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/bahrain-wikileaks-cables/8334600/BAHRAINS-SHIA-POLITICAL-LEADERS-VISIT-IRAQ.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Bahrain Mourners Call for End to Monarchy – Mood of Defiance Against Entire Ruling System After Brutal Attack on Pearl Square Protest Camp That Left at Least Five Dead". The Guardian. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/18/bahrain-mourners-call-downnfall-monarchy" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/18/bahrain-mourners-call-downnfall-monarchy</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Clashes Rock Bahraini Capital". Al Jazeera. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011. <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121714223324820.html" target="_blank">http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121714223324820.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Bahrain Protests: Police Break Up Pearl Square Crowd". BBC News. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12490286" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12490286</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"Bahrain 'asks for Gulf help'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 April 2023. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/3/14/bahrain-asks-for-gulf-help" target="_blank">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/3/14/bahrain-asks-for-gulf-help</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Bronner, Ethan; Slackman, Michael (14 March 2011). "Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15bahrain.html?_r=1&hp" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15bahrain.html?_r=1&hp</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Saudi Soldiers Sent into Bahrain". Al Jazeera. 15 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011. <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011314124928850647.html" target="_blank">http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011314124928850647.html</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Ilan, Goldenberg; Dalton, Melissa Griffin (2015). Bridging the Gulf: How to fix U.S. relations with the GCC. Council on Foreign Relation. JSTOR 43946541. OCLC 1023441567. <a href="/wiki/Melissa_Dalton" target="_blank">/wiki/Melissa_Dalton</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Bronner, Ethan; Slackman, Michael (14 March 2011). "Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15bahrain.html?_r=1&hp" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15bahrain.html?_r=1&hp</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Henderson, Simon. "Bahrain's Crisis: Saudi Forces Intervene". Washington Institute. Retrieved 19 March 2016. <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/bahrains-crisis-saudi-forces-intervene" target="_blank">http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/bahrains-crisis-saudi-forces-intervene</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Amies, Nick. "Saudi intervention in Bahrain increases Gulf instability". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 6 May 2016. <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/saudi-intervention-in-bahrain-increases-gulf-instability/a-14912216" target="_blank">http://www.dw.com/en/saudi-intervention-in-bahrain-increases-gulf-instability/a-14912216</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>Holmes, Amy Austin. "The military intervention that the world forgot". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 11 March 2016. <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/3/bahrain-uprisinginterventionsaudiarabiaemirates.html" target="_blank">http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/3/bahrain-uprisinginterventionsaudiarabiaemirates.html</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>Katzman, Kenneth. "Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 19 May 2016. <a href="https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/95-1013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/95-1013.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>Mashal, Mujib. "Pakistani troops aid Bahrain's crackdown". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 16 June 2016. <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/07/2011725145048574888.html" target="_blank">http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/07/2011725145048574888.html</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:26"><p>Holmes, Amy Austin. "The military intervention that the world forgot". Al-Jazeera. 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"Saudi Arabian intervention in Bahrain driven by visceral Sunni fear of Shias". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2016. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/20/bahrain-saudi-arabia-rebellion" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/20/bahrain-saudi-arabia-rebellion</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:30"><p>Holmes, Amy Austin. "The military intervention that the world forgot". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 11 March 2016. <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/3/bahrain-uprisinginterventionsaudiarabiaemirates.html" target="_blank">http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/3/bahrain-uprisinginterventionsaudiarabiaemirates.html</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:31"><p>Nuruzzaman, Mohammed (2013). "Politics, Economics and Saudi Military Intervention in Bahrain". Journal of Contemporary Asia. 43 (2): 363–378. doi:10.1080/00472336.2012.759406. S2CID 216139794. 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