More Deaths As Bahrain Protest Is Crushed

Soldiers and riot police have used tear gas and armoured vehicles to drive out hundreds of anti-government protesters occupying a landmark square in Bahrain's capital.

At least four people were killed and hundreds wounded, according to witnesses and state TV.

Abdel Jalil Khalil, a leading Shia politician, said troops had fanned out across Bahrain, cutting off streets and arresting or firing at people who tried to cross.

He added private homes and funeral parlours were receiving casualties as troops had surrounded hospitals and were not letting people in.

"This is a war of annihilation," Mr Khalil told the Reuters news agency, "This does not happen even in wars and this is not acceptable."

Neighbouring Iran has denounced the military action as "foul and "doomed".

The full-scale assault on Pearl Square in the centre of Manama, where anti-government protesters have been camped for weeks, was launched at daybreak.

Stinging clouds of tear gas filled streets and black smoke rose from the square from the protesters' tents caught fire.

Two people were reported to have died after police fired tear gas at the mainly Shia demonstrators, who have been calling for political reform.

Bahrain state TV also reported that two policemen died when they were hit by a fleeing vehicle.

Protesters ran for cover into side streets and soldiers blocked main roads into Manama. Mobile and mobile phones were apparently jammed and internet services cut.

State TV later broadcast video of military vehicles in the square flying Bahrain's red-and-white flag as security officials moved through the wreckage of the encampment.

The pictures also showed the ground littered with debris, including satellite dishes and charred tent poles.

Helicopters crisscrossed over the square, which was cleared by security forces late last month but later retaken by protesters.

Bahrain's Sunni ruler King Hamad has declared a three-month state of emergency and called in Saudi troops to help keep order.

Security forces have now moved into Manama's financial district, reopening roads which had been blocked by protesters. The country's tock market has closed until further notice.

Bahrain - home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet - is the first Gulf country to be thrown into turmoil by the wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world.

The protests began last month. The Shia majority complain of economic hardship, lack of political freedom and discrimination in jobs in favour of Sunnis.

The UN, US and other countries have called for restraint and a political solution to the crisis.