Crackdown in Shiite town: ‘They’re afraid we'll protest Yemen operation’

"Street battles raged for hours on Sunday between Saudi security forces and locals in the town of Awamiyah, a hotbed of Shiite activism in the country’s east. According to one of our Observers, the authorities are cracking down on shiites, who represent a minority in the area, in an attempt to stop them from organising protests over Saudi Arabia’s military operation against Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. The consequences of global tensions between Sunni and Shiite countries, he says, are now exacerbating divisions at home. "