Hundreds of Saudi Shias staged peaceful protests in the kingdom's oil-producing east on Friday in support of Shias in Bahrain and political freedoms at home, activists said. Demonstrators gathered in Awamiya, a village near the main Shia centre of Qatif, shortly after afternoon prayers. They waved mostly Bahraini, but also Saudi, flags.
Saudi Arabia sent 1,000 troops to Bahrain, a Sunni monarchy, to help contain pro-democracy protests led by that Gulf Arab country's Shia majority. The protesters in Awamiya called for an end to what they say is sectarian discrimination against Saudi Arabia's Shia Muslims by the Sunni absolute monarchy. They shouted slogans including: "Oil and unemployment, where is the justice!" and "Bahrain free, Peninsula army out!" and carried placards which read: "The people want human rights!" activists told Reuters.
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