Bloody Thursday (Bahrain)

Bloody Thursday
Part of the Bahraini uprising of 2011
Riot police firing tear gas from above a flyover while others are moving from below it towards Pearl Roundabout
Location	Pearl Roundabout, Manama, Bahrain
Coordinates	26°13′49″N 50°33′41″E / 26.23028°N 50.56139°E / 26.23028; 50.56139
Date	17 February 2011 (2011-02-17) 3:00 am (UTC+3)
Target	Clear Pearl Roundabout of protesters
Attack type	Pre-dawn raid
Weapons	Knives Clubs Tear gas Stun grenades Birdshot Guns
Deaths	4 protesters
Injured	300+
Perpetrators	Public Security Forces National Security Agency (NSA) Bahrain Defence Force (BDF)
No. of participants	1,000 Security forces[1] Non-specified number of plain-clothed officiers from the NSA, Criminal Investigations Department and BDF Intelligence[1]

Bloody Thursday (Arabic: خميس البحرين الدامي) is the name given by Bahraini protesters to 17 February 2011, the fourth day of the Bahraini uprising as part of the Arab Spring. Bahraini security forces launched a pre-dawn raid to clear Pearl Roundabout in Manama of the protesters camped there, most of whom were at the time asleep in tents; four were killed and about 300 injured. The event led some to demand even more political reform than they had been before, calling for an end to the reign of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

The clearance was described by witnesses as being brutal and sudden. Clouds of tear gas covered the area, and volleys of birdshot were fired on those who refused to withdraw. Medics, ambulances and a journalist were reportedly attacked as well. Sporadic clashes broke out around Bahrain hours after the raid. During the afternoon the National Guard and army deployed armoured vehicles, tanks, more than 50 armoured personnel carriers and set up checkpoints in the streets around the country. Protesters then took refuge at Salmaniya Medical Complex and continued their agitations; thousands of them chanted "Down with the king, down with the government."

The Bahraini government accused protesters of attacking the security forces, 50 of whom sustained injuries, and insisted that action had been necessary to pull Bahrain back from the "brink of a sectarian abyss".^[2] But opposition parties dismissed the government's account as a "silly play",^[3] described the raid as a "heinous massacre"^[4] and submitted their resignations from the lower house of Parliament.

Internationally, the Gulf Cooperation Council Ministers of Foreign Affairs expressed their solidarity with government of Bahrain and their support for the measures taken. The United Nations, the European Union and the United States on the other hand expressed their deep concern and regret for the violence used against protesters. The United Kingdom government announced that in light of the unrest it would revoke some arms export licences to Bahrain. A number of international rights groups and independent observers criticised the government crackdown.