At least five protesters were martyred and hundreds wounded in the violent assault on Wednesday
As soon as Saudi Arabia and UAE armed forces arrived in Bahrain, bloodsheds have started.
Hundreds of Bahraini riot police early Wednesday launched a violent assault, using tear gas and live rounds directly on the heads of demonstrators, in Manama's Pearl Roundabout, where protesters inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt have been camping peacefully for weeks demanding political reforms.
At least five protesters were martyred and hundreds wounded in the violent assault on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, six people were martyred and more than 1,000 others were injured in clashes between anti-regime protesters and Bahrain's security forces.
According to Bahraini sources, people confirmed the participation of Saudi tanks in attacks against them today. Saudi forces have stormed Manama's Salmaniya hospital where hundreds of people were receiving treatment for injuries. Saudi troops did not allow doctors, nurses and relatives of the victims either to leave or to enter the building. 
A leading Iraq-based Muslim authority on Wednesday condemned a deadly government crackdown on protesters in Bahrain, saying the violence must stop immediately.
"We condemn this irresponsible act," Basheer al-Najafi, one of the world's four top Shia authorities, said in a statement. "We call on those responsible to immediately halt this injustice to citizens," Najafi said from his base in the holy city of Najaf in central Iraq.
Najafi urged Bahrain's leadership to "avoid violence and sectarian strife, save lives, and take the wise path of negotiation as the best way to save the country."
Iraqi Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr calls for protests in Baghdad and the southern city of Basra Wednesday and nationwide demonstrations Friday, "in support of the people of Bahrain," his office said.
Wednesday's clashes in Manama came a day after King Hamad, boosted by the arrival of armed forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, declared a three-month state of emergency in a bid to quell the protests.
"We were surprised that the Bahraini government asked for forces from neighboring countries, who targeted villages and people who had raised slogans of peace, and were targeted by gunfire and mortars," Najafi's statement said.
In Bahrain, five of the kingdom's top clerics had urged the international community to intervene as the violence escalates further following the deployment of foreign troops in the Persian Gulf state.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Sheikh Issa Qassem, Sayyed Abdullah al-Ghoraifi, Sheikh Abdul Hussain al-Setri and Sheikh Mohammad Saleh al-Rabiei warned that a “horrible massacre” is expected at Manama's Pearl Square, where people are only peacefully demanding their rights, IRIB reported.
Bahraini forces, who were backed by army helicopters and Saudi forces and tanks, managed to take over the square only moments later.
A group of armed men had earlier set fire to the protesters' tents. Electricity and mobile phone services have been reportedly cut off in large parts of Manama as the political situation in Bahrain escalates further.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the US should be answerable for its 'traceable involvement' in the violent suppression of protests in the Middle East, North Africa and the invasion of Bahrain pointing to the recent visit by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Manama. “Following the visit, certain countries in the Persian Gulf announced that sending troops to Bahrain is aimed at supporting the ruling government in the country.” “It is very clear that such an aggressive move has been carried out in support of the United States during the defense secretary's trip. Regional nations have the right to declare that Washington is responsible for any violence and killing,” ISNA quoted Larijani as saying.
