Brits advised to leave Bahrain
By politics.co.uk staff
The government has urged UK citizens to leave Bahrain and advised against all travel to the island.
The Foreign Office said British nationals should leave by commercial means today, or purchase a seat for £310 on a chartered flight.
The situation on the ground has deteriorated as the Sunni monarchy enlisted the help of Saudi troops to violently suppress mass protests by the Shi’ite majority.
A chartered flight reportedly left Bahrain earlier today with 18 passengers on board, 16 of whom are reported to be British nationals. Yesterday, a plane departed with only empty seats, after no British citizens bought a seat on the flight.
“Our assessment remains that, as on March 17th, travel on the main routes on the island during daylight hours is orderly if slow in some places because of police checkpoints,” the Foreign Office said.
“You should exercise caution in particular on any roads you use to get to these main routes and consider carefully the situation in your local vicinity before you leave.”
The global focus on the situation in Libya and in Japan has distracted attention from the ongoing unrest in the wider Middle East, which shows no signs of abating.
In Yemen, 30 people were reported to have died after security forces opened fire at a pro-democracy protest. President Ali Abdullah Saleh is expected to give a televised address later.
