Marc Owen Jones: 1 in 3 Civilians Killed in Bahrain Since Feb 14th 2011 Reported to Have Died as a Result of Tear Gas Inhalation
by MARC OWEN JONES (blog) JANUARY 17, 2012
On Saturday 14th January 81-year-old Salma Mohsin was reported to have died as a result of inhaling tear gas that was fired into her home in Barbar. On 30th December 2011, 15- year-old Sayed Hashim Sayed Saeed from Sitra was killed after he was was reportedly struck in the head by a tear gas cannister. On 17th December 2011 73-year-old Abdulali Ali Ahmed from Meqsha died following heavy clashes in which tear gas was used. The government argues that he died of natural causes, while other sources say it was due to tear gas inhalation. Also, in another disputed incident, 55-year-old Fakhria Jassim al-Sakran from Muharraq died on 3rd January 2012 after reportedly inhaling tear gas.
This means that since I last wrote about tear gas deaths in Bahrain on 12th December, four more people have died as a result of it. This puts the figure of civilians reported to have been killed by tear gas since February 14th 2011 at 15. In others words, approximately 1 in 3 civilians who have been killed as part of government’s efforts to contain protests since February 14th have reportedly died as a result of tear gas inhalation. On December 12 the figure was 1 in 4, and in June it was 1 in 6.