Bahrain Mirror: The Bahrain-based Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said that the town of Diraz, west of the capital Manama, besieged by the security and military forces, completed on Monday (May 21, 2018) 700 days of the siege imposed on the area, which was launched on June 21, 2016 and continues to this day.

Al-Wefaq condemned in a statement the silence of countries around the world and their official state bodies as well as UN agencies towards this crime, stressing that it "encouraged the regime to intensify the siege and continue it as well as practice the worst forms of violations against unarmed citizens over the duration of the unjust siege imposed on the area."

The siege was imposed on Diraz after the withdrawal of the nationality of the highest religious Shia leader in Bahrain, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, who lives in the same area.

The town has been the target of many raids and incursions, and Diraz was also subjected to one of the most horrific massacres, when five young men were killed outside the home of Ayatollah Qassim last year while the sit-in held there was forcibly cleared.

It is estimated that between 20,000 and 25,000 people suffer from the closure and siege imposed on the entire area, as regime forces are deployed across the entire area and about 16 entrances and exits are closed down. The only people allowed in are those who have addresses within the area that is after waiting in long queues to have their identities confirmed with some are subjected to arrest and insults very often.

Al-Wefaq called on the world, international community and Islamic community to help lift the unjust siege on Diraz and the need to lift the house arrest imposed on the most prominent figure and Shia religious leader in Bahrain and the Gulf, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim.

Arabic Version