Saudi Forces Withdrawing From Bahrain
\nLynsey Addario for The New York Times
\nPublished: June 28, 2011<\/p>\n
BEIRUT, Lebanon \u2014 Saudi Arabia will withdraw most of its 1,200 troops from neighboring Bahrain by next week after a three-month mission to quell an uprising against the monarchy there, a Saudi official said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain asked for help from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in mid-March to end demonstrations against the governing Sunni elite. Most Bahrainis are Shiite.<\/p>\n
The intervention underscored Saudi Arabia\u2019s deep fears of protests on its doorstep and marked a crucial step in what many see as the kingdom\u2019s attempt to stop the wave of pro-democracy demonstrations across the Arab world.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia, which tolerates almost no dissent, has a restive Shiite minority of its own in the eastern part of the country. \u201cBoth parties have reached a decision that troops should withdraw now,\u201d said a Saudi government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. \u201cThe troops entered Bahrain under the request of Bahrain authorities to help the people and the government of Bahrain, and the kingdom doesn\u2019t need help anymore.\u201d …more<\/a><\/p>\n