Bahrain Asks Citizens To Welcome UAE, Saudi Arabia Troops

Troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) Peninsula Shield Force started arriving in Bahrain yesterday in light of the unrest the Kingdom is currently witnessing, with the UAE providing 500 soldiers and Saudi Arabi 1000.

In a statement, the Bahrain Defence Forces (BDF) called upon all citizens and residents to cooperated fully with the GCC forces and welcome them warmly, according to Bahrain’s state news agency BNA.

The move is in line with the principle of unity among GCC states, which indicates that safeguarding security and stability across the GCC region is a collective responsibility of all members, BNA reported.

The deployment marked the first cross – border military operation to quell unrest since the Arab world’s rebellions began in December.

Troops from Saudi Arabia and the UAE  arrived in Bahrain Mondayfollowing decisions taken by the GCC foreign ministers during their most recent meeting.

” The Bahrain government asked us yesterday to look at ways to help them to defuse tension in Bahrain,” United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in Paris.

He said they sent 500 Emirati police and the Saudis and others also sent forces ” to get calm and order in Bahrain”.