SAUDI FORCES QUELL NATIONWIDE PROTESTSABU DHABI [MENL] -- Saudi Arabia employed helicopters, combat vehicles and a massive ground force to quell nationwide democracy protests.
Saudi opposition sources said National Guard and Interior Ministry troops responded quickly to protest gatherings in major Saudi cities on Thursday. The sources said Saudi anti-riot police, armed with water cannons, quickly dispersed demonstrators, arrested suspected organizers and in some cases engaged in shootouts with armed insurgents.
About 800 people were held or arrested in demonstrations in Jedda and Riyad, the sources said, while smaller protests were reported in Hail and Tabouk. The protest campaign was called by the London-based Movement for Islamic Reform in Saudi Arabia, headed by Saad Al Faqih.
Saudi officials said most of the protests were dispersed peacefully. They said two men were arrested in Jedda after they fired into the air outside a mosque meant to serve as a gathering site for an illegal protest.