Alwaght- The United States has approved arms sales packages worth over $3.8 billion to the repressive Bahraini regime including F-16 jets, upgrades, missiles and patrol boats.
The approvals coincide with the State Department’s notification to Congress, which had held up a similar arms deal last year over human rights concerns.
The announcement came just a day after Amnesty International blamed Britain and the United States for backing the Bahraini regime which continues to abuse human rights amid a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy movement, which includes the majority Shiite community, in the tiny Persian Gulf monarchy.
The new report published Thursday by Amnesty International shed light on the repressive tactics used by the Bahraini regime over the past year to crush civil society and violently crack down on protests, leading to the deaths of scores of civilians including a child.
In May, US President Donald Trump said Washington’s relations with Bahrain would improve, after meeting with the king of the Persian Gulf monarchy during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
“The failure of the UK, USA and other countries that have leverage over Bahrain to speak out in the face of the disastrous decline in human rights in the country over the past year has effectively emboldened the government to intensify its endeavor to silence the few remaining voices of dissent,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. Bahrain is also home to Bahrain the US Fifth Fleet and Britain's Royal Navy has a major facility.
Anti-regime protests have been held in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular Islamic Awakening uprising began in the country in 2011. The Al Khalifa regime has used an iron fist to silence dissent.
