By DPA,
Riffa (Bahrain) : Scores of Shia-owned businesses in Sunni areas of Bahrain were forced to shut down by supporters of the Sunni government.
Stores in the southern cities of Riffa, Awali, Sakhir Sanad, and Salmabad as well as Muharraq to the north of capital Manama were all targeted around the same time late Thursday.
There was also at least one attack on an anti-government protester in the capital Manama. Four masked men attacked the youth as he was leaving a protest site, leaving him with minor injuries.
Affected businesses included branches of US companies such as Papa John’s, Chili’s, Dairy Queen, and Hardee’s. British chain Costa Coffee was also targeted.
No damage was reported as crowds moved from store to store forcing them to close up and posting pictures of the Bahraini leadership on their windows. Most instances occurred near police stations or under the watch of the police, who showed a minimum presence.
A whole shopping mall was also shut down, as retailers and restaurants sent buses to pick up their employees, mainly Filipinos, South-East Asians and Africans.
The incidents came at a time of heightened tension between the Shias and Sunnis on the small Gulf island.
Just hours earlier, an association of seven opposition groups issued a joint statement, warning of rising sectarian tension, as sporadic clashes broke out in streets and schools.
The association, including Shia, leftist, liberal and Baathist groups, also said they opposed a call for a Friday rally in Riffa, “out of respect for the feelings of the residents there”.
The opposition leaders wanted “to avoid any circumstance that could lead to an escalation”, said Sheikh Ali Salman, secretary general of the largest Shia opposition group al-Wefaq.
Salman and other opposition leaders accused the authorities of deliberately stoking sectarian tension.
The groups also called for an end to the student protests. The escalation hit a new high Thursday when clashes erupted in a girls’ college in the north.
In the capital, thousands of teachers, students and parents demonstrated in front of the ministry of education demanding the resignation of Minister Majed al-Nuaimi.
The teachers’ union threatened to shut down the schools unless more steps were taken to protect students and staff from the escalating violence.
Bahrain protests began in the middle of last month to demand reforms, inspired by successful anti-government movements in Tunisia and Egypt. They have quickly escalated into clashes that have left seven people dead and hundreds injured.
Shia Muslims make up over 70 percent of Bahrain’s population but the ruling family is Sunni Muslim.