DUBAI: Saudi Arabian police have fired on protesters and sealed off a village in the Eastern part of the country, dissidents living in exile said. According to initial reports from Monday's attack, 20 people have been wounded in an area predominantly Shia. Saudi Arabia is a majority Sunni country and Shia living in the kingdom have long talked about discrimination at the government's hands. Observers say Sunni-Shia tension is rising in the kingdom and could be exploited by Iran, Saudi Arabia's greatest rival in the region. Saudi officials blamed Iran for the unrest, although it appeared that the conflict was triggered after police allegedly arrested two men in a bid to force their two sons to surrender to authorities. The two fugitives had been accused of playing a leading role in small Shia protests that erupted in March after Saudi Arabia sent troops to quell Shia protests in nearby Bahrain. Angry villagers surrounded Awwamiya's police station on Monday to demand the fathers' release, prompting policemen inside to open fire, Saudi dissidents said. “The city is now under siege by security forces,” said Ali Al Ahmed, a Saudi Shia activist in Washington, in comments published by international media. BM
