Riot Police Clash with Tribesmen on Eve of Kuwaiti Polls
Kuwait's riot police clashed late Tuesday with tribesmen who stormed a local television station in the second day of violence ahead of general polls, local media reported.
Several people and security men were wounded in the incident after hundreds of tribesmen gathered outside the offices of private al-Watan TV which was hosting pro-government candidate Nabeel al-Fadl.
The incident comes a day after angry tribesmen burned down the election tent of controversial pro-government candidate Mohammed al-Juwaihel over remarks deemed offensive to the Mutairi tribe.
Tribesmen consider Fadl, a strong critic of the opposition, as a close ally of Juwaihel who has disappeared after the incident late Monday night.
Al-Qabas newspaper said on its website that some tribesmen managed to storm the offices of the television station and damaged some furniture and a luxury car parked outside believed to be for Fadl.
As many as 14 security men and three reporters were wounded and some hospitalized, including an al-Qabas reporter, the daily said.
The incident came after opposition tribal candidates held a massive rally to condemn Juwaihel's "derogatory" remarks and to ask the government to take legal action against him.
Kuwait's royal court, many election candidates and a large number of political groups on Tuesday strongly criticized the Juwaihel incident as well as the tribesmen's response.
The royal court warned in a statement that the incident risked "fuelling divisions in society," and called on the Kuwaiti people to steer clear of anything that may negatively affect the elections to be held on Thursday.
The court said "orders were issued to take all necessary legal measures to hold to account" all those who took part in the incident, and insisted that "anything that harms Kuwaiti tribes undermines Kuwait as a whole."
Oil-rich Kuwait has been hit by a series of political crises over the past six years leading to the resignation of seven governments and the dissolving of parliament on four occasions.
Source: Agence France Presse
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