Bahrain king orders probe into deaths at protest, report says

Bahrain’s King Hamad ordered an investigation into two deaths at clashes between security forces and protesters in the Gulf Arab kingdom, Al Arabiya TV reported, without saying where it obtained the information.

King Hamad expressed sorrow over the deaths, it said.

One man was killed at a protest on Monday and another during the funeral of the first victim, according to the Al Wefaq opposititon party’s website.

According to a separate report by the official Bahrain News Agency, King Hamad said on Tuesday that the
process of reform in the Gulf Arab kingdom is continuing and “will not
stop.”

The king was adressing the nation in a speech to mark the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), it said.

Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Al Wefaq opposition movement suspended its parliamentary role, one of the group’s senior lawmakers, Abduljalil Khalil, said on Tuesday after clashes between mostly Shiite protesters and police in the Persian Gulf state.

“All our demands are very logical,” Khalil said in an interview today. “We did this because of the way police treated people yesterday. People started peacefully. No one will accept cosmetic changes. We are ready to negotiate but there must be real reform. Our demands aren’t influenced by Iran.”