AFP, Riyadh, 13 Nov 2011 – The Gulf Cooperation Council on Sunday urged member states to exercise ‘caution and vigilance’ after Bahrain’s announcement that it has broken up a cell planning attacks.
‘The condition in the region and dangers facing member states require more caution and vigilance in order to thwart criminal attempts at destabilisation,’ GCC chief Abdullatif al-Zayani said in a statement.
He welcomed the security cooperation between Bahrain and Qatar that he credited with having foiled alleged attacks on the Bahraini interior ministry, the Saudi embassy in Manama, and the causeway linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
‘Security coordination and cooperation between the council members will ensure the failure of these destabilising attempts,’ said Zayani.
In an apparent reference to Iran, Zayani said the alleged plot reflected ‘desperate attempts … of continuous interference in the internal affairs of the kingdom of Bahrain and other GCC countries.’
The Bahraini interior ministry announced on Saturday that four members of a cell planning attacks were detained in Qatar and turned over to Manama, while a fifth suspect was arrested in Bahrain.
The Sunni-ruled Arab monarchies of the Gulf have repeatedly accused mainly Shiite Iran of meddling in their internal affairs and of inciting Shiite-led protests which rocked Bahrain for a month from mid-February.
The Bahraini government crushed the pro-democracy protest with the help of troops from its partners in the six-nation GCC, which also groups Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.