The Saudi regime is in the midst of an extreme and brutal crackdown against its own citizenry in the country’s Eastern province – a situation now spiraling out of control with rising civilian deaths, entire neighborhoods turned to rubble, and new reports that water and electricity have been cut to the now completely besieged town of Al-Awamiya. Though local activists continue to upload shocking ground level videos to social media revealing that entire districts have been leveled, international and US media have remained largely silent.
Tensions have been simmering in the heavily Shia populated Qatif governate throughout the past year, especially after the January execution of prominent Shia cleric and Al-Awamiya native Nimr al-Nimr. Additionally, 14 Shia citizens, among them young Mujtaba al-Sweikat – a student enrolled at Western Michigan University – currently await execution upon the signature of King Salman. The torture and mass trial of the group, charged with “protest-related” crimes has further inflamed tensions in the region. Large protests against the Saudi monarchy and security services have been frequent in Qatif going all the way back to the start of the so-called “Arab Spring” – though major international media outlets have tended to ignore such protests occurring under US/UK friendly regimes.
This post was published at Zero Hedge on Aug 4, 2017.
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