Saudi officials: 4 killed in Shiite protests

Riyadh, Nov 24 (AP) Saudi Arabia's minority Shiite Muslims have staged protests in an eastern city, and four were shot dead, the Interior Ministry said today. The ministry statement did not say who fired the fatal shots in the city of Qatif, but a top official said security forces were fighting with demonstrators there. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki later told a news conference in Riyadh that authorities had to deal firmly with what he described as "rioters and hired elements" to restore security. He said the "escalation of rioting" was systematic. Along with the four dead, he said nine were injured, including a woman. The statement said two were killed today during the funeral of one who had died earlier. Circumstances of the death of the fourth were not disclosed. There has been a series of clashes between police and protesters in the country's Shiite-dominated eastern region, starting in the spring. Though limited, protests in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia have been swiftly quelled. The monarchy apparently fears they could escalate as have others around the Arab world particularly in the neighboring island of Bahrain, where a Shiite majority is ruled by a Sunni king. The Interior Ministry previously blamed what it described as "seditious" residents, saying they attacked security forces with guns and firebombs with the backing of a foreign enemy an apparent reference to Shiite power Iran. The ministry statement said the deaths in the new unrest were the result of exchanges of fire since Monday with "unknown criminals," who it said fired on security checkpoints and vehicles from houses and alleyways. (AP)