Fear of war as Saudi sends in troops to Bahrain

SAUDI ARABIA has sent troops into Bahrain to help put down weeks of protests by the Shi’ite Muslim majority, a move opponents of the Sunni ruling family called a declaration of war.

Analysts saw the troop movement into the island state, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, as a mark of concern in Saudi Arabia that concessions by the country’s monarchy could inspire the conservative Sunni kingdom’s own Shi’ite minority.

About 1,000 Saudi soldiers entered Bahrain to protect government facilities, a Saudi official source said, a day after mainly Shi’ite protesters overran police and blocked roads.