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Bahrain used tear gas on protesters

MANAMA, Bahrain, March 11 (UPI) -- Bahrain's Ministry of Interior said Friday it used tear gas to disperse clashing demonstrators, refuting rumors authorities used live ammunition.

The ministry issued a statement saying claims the government used live bullets were "baseless," saying security authorities used, specifically, eight tear gas bullets to "prevent" any clashes between Sunni and Shiite protestors, the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, reported.

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Noting two ostensibly opposing groups were heading to the same roundabout, the ministry said it installed barbed wire to prevent any skirmishes between the two sides that could possibly escalate the sectarian tension in Bahrain.

Bahrain is ruled by the U.S.-backed Sunni Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, whose family has been jolted by weeks of protest by Shiites who are in the majority but who seek to replace the puritanical kingdom with a republican democracy that would give them more of a voice, The New York Times said.

Washington is in an ongoing support position regarding the Sunni royal family -- to the growing dismay of the mostly Shiite demonstrators.

A senior U.S. military official said Friday the administration remained optimistic and patient.

"We're still a little bit in the talks-before-the-talks period, but we're hoping the dialogue will start soon," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules imposed by the Pentagon. "I don't think anybody expects you're going to have democracy overnight."

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