By Fredrik Richter and Martina Fuchs<\/p>\n
MANAMA\/DUBAI | Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:54am EDT<\/p>\n
MANAMA\/DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain’s prime minister, who has faced calls for his ouster by street protesters, described the unrest as a coup attempt and said those who took part would be held to account.<\/p>\n
The country’s foreign minister said Saudi and UAE troops called in to help quell weeks of pro-democracy protests by the Sunni Muslim-ruled country’s disgruntled Shi’ite majority would stay until an Iranian threat is judged to be over.<\/p>\n
“Bahrain has witnessed a coup attempt,” Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa said in remarks carried by pro-government media on Monday. “No violators would get away with it. All co-conspirators and abettors must be held accountable.”<\/p>\n
Weeks of anti-government protests in February and March by mostly Shi’ite protesters demanded more freedom, an end to discrimination and a constitutional monarchy in the Sunni-ruled country, a U.S. ally that hosts Washington’s Fifth Fleet.<\/p>\n
Bahraini rulers crushed the protests last month, deploying security forces in the capital and calling in troops from Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia and the UAE under the aegis of a Gulf defense pact, a move demonstrators saw as an act of war. …more<\/a><\/p>\n