Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Chapter IV — Narrative of Events of February and March 2011
check the identities of people driving through the neighbourhood. Citizens
from various neighbourhoods also gathered at the Bahrain International
Airport to protect it against possible attacks by vandals and armed gangs.
469. Besides the palpable deterioration of security and law and order in
many parts of Bahrain, one of the significant events of the day was a
confrontation between protesters camped at the Bahrain Financial Harbour
and security forces. Starting at 05:00, demonstrators began obstructing traffic
across the King Faisal Highway, one of the main thoroughfares of Manama.
Protesters used plastic traffic barriers, metal barricades, lamp posts, garbage
dumpsters and other large objects to block traffic. Later, a group of protesters
numbering over 100 began standing behind these barricades to prevent their
removal by the police.
470. Police armed only with batons began arriving at the scene at around
07:00. A senior police officer used a megaphone to encourage protesters to
vacate the area, remove the barricades and reopen the King Faisal Highway to
traffic. Reports indicated that the protesters refused to leave the area, at which
time more police units were dispatched to the area. As the standoff continued,
some of the protesters broke through the barricades and charged at the police
units. Given that they were unarmed and outnumbered, the police lines broke
and the personnel retreated in a disorganised manner. Some of the protesters
pursued the police units as they withdrew, attacking and injuring a number of
police officers and damaging police vehicles.
471. By 08:30, the police units in the area had regrouped and
reinforcements were dispatched to assist in reopening the King Faisal
Highway and clearing the tents set up by demonstrators at the Financial
Harbour. The MoI deployed riot police armed with tear gas, rubber bullets,
sound bombs and a water cannon mounted on an armoured vehicle. In the
following hours, skirmishes continued between police and protesters, whose
numbers increased when they were joined by individuals from the GCC
Roundabout and other areas of Manama. Some of the protesters were reported
to have attacked police units with rocks, metal rods and sharp objects. The
scope of these confrontations expanded from the immediate vicinity of the
harbour to the overpass adjacent to the GCC Roundabout and then to the
Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Road. During these clashes, which continued
throughout the morning, numerous protesters were beaten, while others
sustained rubber bullet wounds and some suffered from choking caused by
tear gas. According to an MoI statement issued later in the day, 14 police
officers were wounded during the events at the Financial Harbour, including
one who was struck by a civilian car reportedly driven by one of the
demonstrators.
472. Despite attempts by security forces to reopen the main thoroughfares
and roads surrounding the GCC Roundabout, the King Faisal Highway and
the Sheikh Khalifa bin Salaman Road remained blocked. Throughout the day,
protesters brought more plastic barricades and metal barriers to obstruct
traffic. They also used heavy machinery to transport rubble, cement bars and
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