REEM KHALIFA, [email], @Reem_Khalifa
Khalifa just wrote the AP piece “Clashes mark Bahrain’s Second Uprising Anniversary,” which states: “Security forces in Bahrain clashed on Thursday with anti-government protesters in street battles that left at least one boy dead amid high tensions on the second anniversary of the uprising in the Gulf nation, activists said.

“The demonstrators also included groups chanting against talks aimed at easing the Arab Spring-inspired unrest in the country, showing the deep divisions even among opposition factions over whether to negotiate or escalate the unrest.

“Bahrain’s Shiite majority is seeking a greater political voice in the strategic Sunni-ruled kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

“More than 55 people have been killed in the two-year unrest, which began with massive marches on Feb. 14, 2011. Some activists place the death toll higher.

“The latest death was a 16-year-old boy killed by police … early Thursday in the mainly Shiite village of Dih, west of the capital, Manama, said Yousef al-Muhafedha, a rights activist.”

MARYAM AL-KHAWAJA, [email], @MARYAMALKHAWAJA
Al-Khawaja acting President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, and co-director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights. She was a guest on “Democracy Now!” this morning.

See also by Jim Lobe: “U.S. Urged to Lean Harder on Bahrain’s Ruling Family.”