ABC News:
Opposition figures arrested in Bahrain
Updated
Soldiers and riot police used tanks, tear gas, water cannon and helicopters to drive out thousands of protesters from Pearl Square. (AFP: Joseph Eid)
Security forces have arrested several senior opposition figures in Bahrain as a crackdown on anti-government protests in the Gulf state intensifies.
The crackdown began on Wednesday morning with a raid on Manama's Pearl Square, which has housed the protesters' base camp over the past month.
Soldiers and riot police used tanks, tear gas, water cannon and helicopters to drive out thousands of protesters.
The government says the only casualties in the raid were two policemen who were killed when they were repeatedly run over by cars containing fleeing protesters.
But the protesters say six people have been confirmed dead, while more than 200 are injured and eight people are on life support.
In the past few hours, it has become clear that the government crackdown is now targeting individual opposition figures.
The son of one opposition figure, known as Hassan, told The World Today his family's home was being raided as he spoke on the phone.
"They just went to our home. They're calling me even now to tell me what's going on. I have no idea what's been... all I know is my sister said that they're in our house and they're bashing in... they're breaking things," he said.
He says the people raiding his home are definitely Saudi troops, and says his family is being targeted as a result of the recent uprising.
"My dad is still an opposition leader and they definitely will take it [out] upon the people they think that that are enforcing the ban, the people which they consider enemies, who are forcing the people to go out into the street and demand for their equal rights," he said.
But the raid on Hassan's home is not an isolated incident.
Night-time raid
The wife of opposition figure Ebrahim Sharif, Ferada, told The World Today her husband had been taken from their family home in the early hours of the morning.
"[About] two o'clock in the morning the doorbell rang and when I looked from the window I saw about 40 men, all of them were putting a mask around their faces," she said.
"We came down very quickly, they said, you have to open the gate. We told them, why should we open the gate? Who are you, what do you want so much at this time of night? It's not fair, 40 people of you coming here. They said, open the door, open the door, we will tell you, open the door.
"At that time one of them, a younger one maybe 25 years old or something, he climbed over the wall, he jumped into the garden, he had a gun, he pointed a gun toward Ebrahim. Ebrahim was very calm. He told him, you don't have to use the gun, please put the gun down, we will talk.
"At that time I came inside the house, I pushed the button and the gate was open so all of them came inside."
She said once all of the men were in the garden, one of them told Ebrahim he had to go with them.
"Ebrahim handed me his telephone and his wallet and I told them, I want to communicate with my husband, I need a number," she said.
"One of them was laughing at me and he said, 'Oh well, you can come and see him at City Centre'. You know City Centre is a shopping complex. I told him, you're making fun of me? City Centre? Where in City Centre? He said, oh second floor near the telephone. And he was making fun of me."
Ms Sharif says she does not know where they have taken her husband and she does not know what will happen next.
"We don't know because usually they don't tell you where they interrogate them. So I have to go back to to our friends, the lawyers. Maybe they can help me and do something more tomorrow," she said.
Hospital blockade
Despite government reports that only two policemen had been killed in the Pearl Square raid, Hassan says there are casualties which are unaccounted for.
"We have approximately six dead, confirmed dead, we have eight people who are living on life support now, they're brain-dead," he said.
"We have 200 severely injured people, they have paralysed the hospital and medical support... they stopped the main hospital from functioning.
"[They] surrounded it with tanks, not letting any of the doctors leave from the night shift from the previous shift, and they didn't allow any doctors to go in."
Hassan says the troops are containing the hospitals to prevent the doctors from taking a more active role, but they are also trying to prevent injured protesters from getting medical assistance.
"They don't want them to be put on the media. They don't want people to know what they did," he said.
"The crimes [that] have been happening are absurd. I mean you have people being shot at at the head, basically blowing the heads off.
"We have footage of it, now as we speak, approximately two hours ago.
"They roundabout itself has been demolished. They took it off the ground.
"This is the extent of the hatred they have inside themselves. To them that symbol is so effective they demolished it completely."
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