UN rights chief urges Bahrain to rein in forces

(March 18, 2011) Bahrain must rein in its security forces after allegations they had killed protesters and attacked medical workers, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on Thursday. Pillay voiced alarm at what she called the illegal "military takeover of hospitals" in the kingdom, where Bahraini forces used tanks and helicopters on Wednesday to drive protesters off the streets. "There are reports of arbitrary arrests, killings, beatings of protesters and of medical personnel, and of the takeover of hospitals and medical centres by various security forces," she said in a statement. "This is shocking and illegal conduct," she said. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also voiced alarm at the escalation in violence which it said had led to more deaths and scores of injured in recent days. Security forces must uphold international standards on the use of force while trying to restore law and order and all wounded must have safe and unimpeded access to medical care, the humanitarian agency said in a statement. Pillay, a former U.N. war crimes judge, said those who carried out such acts, even under orders, could be held criminally liable. The reported violations against pro-democracy activists related to Bahraini police, defence forces and troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council's Peninsula Shield Force, she said. Some 1,000 Saudi soldiers and 500 United Arab Emirates police officers entered Bahrain this week.