KING BAHRAIN EXPRESS CONDOLENCES ON THE PROTESTERS DEATH

MANAMA, Bahrain - In a rare apology, the king of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, made a televised appearance on Tuesday to offer condolences on the protesters' deaths. He expressed his condolences for "the deaths of two of our dear sons", and said a committee would investigate the killings.

"We will ask legislators to look into this issue and suggest needed laws to resolve it," he said, adding that peaceful protests were legal.

• Alkwaka, the human rights activist, said that the fresh crackdown on peaceful protesters cast a doubt on the king's pledge for investigation and calm.
• "People are now asking: is this the investigation that the king promised?" she asked.
• Nazea Saeed, a journalist with Radio Monte Carlo, said hundreds of people gathered at the hospital where the victims of the police attack are treated.
• Speaking to Al Jazeera from the scene, she the crowd is chanting: "Down with Al-Khalifa", in reference to the country's kingdom.
• "People are also chanting that the blood of the victims will not be in vein," she added.
• Ruled and dominated by a Sunni minority, Bahrain has a Shia majority population. Tension between the two communities has been festering for years.
• To balance the population, the government is accused of granting thousands of citizenships to Sunni workers. Saeed said this continues to be a source of deep tension.

Earlier, an Al Jazeera correspondent said pro-reform protesters initially demanded a constitutional monarchy. But as demonstrations gathered momentum, and as police crackdown on protests, many upped the ante on the kingdom, calling its ouster.
A key ally of the US in the region, Bahrain houses a major military base for Washington.

Source: Al Jazeera