"They detained doctors, nurses and other staff and brought them to an unknown location. We are worried what happened to them"

Bahraini hospital

Bahraini forces have arrested a number of doctors and other medical staff, as the brutal crackdown on Bahraini anti-government protesters drag on, the opposition said on Tuesday

Security forces broke in Ibn-Sina and al-Razi medical centers and detained an unknown number of doctors, nurses and medical staff, Reuters reported. It is not yet clear where the medical staff have been taken to, the report added.

"They detained doctors, nurses and other staff and brought them to an unknown location. We are worried what happened to them," said Wefaq politician Mattar Ibrahim Mattar. "I cannot reach by phone my brother who works in Razi," he said.

An activist who works for the government said he saw more than a dozen members of the security forces surrounding al-Razi medical center while arrests were made inside. "They told me to go away when I asked what was going on," he said, declining to be identified for fear of reprisal.

Opposition and human rights groups believe the Bahraini government is arresting doctors who are suspected of having taken part in anti-regime protests.

The Human Rights Watch reports that more than 400 opposition activists and protesters have been arrested in Bahrain in recent weeks.

In the meantime, Bahraini authorities have eased security measures against Lebanese expatriates in the Gulf state, following high-level diplomatic discussions between the two countries.

The decision to allow Lebanese to stay in Bahrain came days after authorities in Manama expelled around 20 Lebanese expatriates from the country and confiscated the passports of more than 100 Lebanese nationals.

The National News Agency said Tuesday that Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati thanked his Bahraini counterpart for his cooperation on the issue of Lebanese expatriates.