MANAMA, Bahrain – A Bahraini cleric says authorities have demolished 30 Shia mosques during their five-month-old crackdown on dissent in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom.
Seyyed Abdullah al-Ghoreifi says 30 Shia mosques have been destroyed as part of the government's campaign against the Shia majority demanding greater freedoms and more rights.
Al-Ghoreifi spoke during a rally Saturday on the outskirts of the capital, Manama.
The demolitions are likely to further inflame sectarian tensions in the island kingdom, the home of the US Navy's 5th Fleet.
Hundreds of protesters, activists and Shia doctors and lawyers have been detained since February when protests began. Dozens have been convicted of anti-state crimes in a special security tribunal.
