London, March 17: The British Foreign Office has called for the Britons in Bahrain to leave the crisis-hit country via the international airport on Thursday.
The FCO asked all British nationals on Wednesday to leave Bahrain on commercial or chartered flights. The flights land in Dubai in order to supply the number of flights available.
Although Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned Bahrain of the violence used in the country, Bahraini security forces have moved in on revolutionary forces in the capital Manama, where the anti-government protestors have been camping for weeks.
Bahrain has been facing wide demonstrations for a month now. It was the first Arab country that was thrown into the unrest.
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Hague’s office suggested British nationals to “stay at home overnight” on Wednesday and follow the travel advice. The travelers — British nationals who want to be rescued — need to pay £260 each for chartering or commercial planes to reach Dubai.
He held talks with Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa over the unrest in the country. He asked his counterpart to return to law and order.
“The UK remains seriously concerned about today’s clashes with protesters and reports of several casualties. I call on all parties to engage in an open and constructive national dialogue, so that it is translated as soon as possible into tangible actions that respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Bahraini people,” said Hague.
Bahrain’s Health Minister Nizar Baharna, a Shia, announced his resignation after police broke into a Manama hospital, and 12 Shia judges also stepped down in protest at what they termed the “excessive use of force” against protesters.
Bahraini protesters are demanding reform from the Sunni dynasty that has ruled for more than 200 years the strategic archipelago — a close US ally and home to the US Fifth Fleet.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar have dispatched their armed forces to crisis-hit Bahrain to assist the rulers in Manama with their brutal crackdown on nationwide protests against the Sunni-led monarchy’s persistent suppression of the majority Shia population.
Foreign military intervention in Bahrain has also concerned UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has called for a meaningful and broad-based national dialogue.
The UN chief also urged Bahrain’s regional neighbors and the international community to support a dialogue process and an environment conducive to credible reform in Bahrain.
Bahraini demonstrators maintain that they will hold their ground until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy and a voice in the government are met.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq and Kuwait have staged demonstrations in support of protesters in Bahrain.