AP EXPLAINS: Impact of Saudi death sentences, Shiite unrest
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — There has been a spike in violence in an eastern town in Saudi Arabia, where masked security forces patrol the streets in armoured cars and come under fire from local Shiite militants.
Concerns in the town of al-Awamiya intensified after the kingdom’s supreme court recently upheld the death sentence for 14 Shiites from the area who participated in anti-government protests and were accused of violence against police.
Shiites from al-Awamiya complain of discrimination as a minority in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
Here’s a look at the impact of the unrest and the death sentences: