Stop the unjust war against innocents in Afghanistan!
Bahrainis Rip Up U.S. Flags in Rare Strikes Protest - October 20, 2001

October 20 saw demonstrators in Bahrain tearing up U.S. flags in a rare anti-American demonstration in the Gulf Arab state over strikes on Afghanistan. It was reported that hundreds of Bahrainis gathered at a main mosque in the capital Manama after Friday prayers, chanting anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans.

It was the first demonstration by Bahrainis since the United States and Britain launched military strikes on Afghanistan on October 7. Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and has voiced support for international efforts to fight terrorism but said any action must avoid killing innocent Afghans.

Witnesses said one of the demonstrators carried a picture of Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man and Washington's prime suspect in last month's suicide attacks on New York and Washington.

``It was a public gathering aimed at condemning U.S. policies against our Islamic and Arab causes, especially the Palestinian and the Afghan problems,'' said Mohammed Abdullah Fakhro, one of the organizers of the protest.

``We are against terrorism, but we are also against treating terror with terrorism,'' Fakhro, a businessman, told Reuters.

In Yemen, thousands of demonstrators denounced the United States at a protest in a northern province on Saturday, witnesses said - N.Y.Times