US resumes military aid programme to Bahrain

The Gulf State saw a Shia-led uprising in 2011, in which protesters demanded a constitutional monarchy

The US State Department says it is resuming aid to the military in Bahrain, which has been withheld since Bahrain cracked down on demonstrations in 2011 (AFP/Getty)

America is resuming its military aid programme with Bahrain - suspended in 2011 amid concerns over human rights - as fears grow that the small Gulf state could be the next target of a terrorist attack.

The US State Department confirmed on Monday that it will resume giving aid to the military in spite of the Gulf island’s human rights record. US military sales to Bahrain since 2000 total have totalled $1.4 billion (£890 million).

The Gulf State, home to the US navy's fifth fleet, saw a Shia-led uprising in 2011, in which protesters demanded a constitutional monarchy and more representative government. But many of their calls were thwarted, with curbs on protesters and the arrests of students and journalists that led to the US withdrawing security assistance.

On Monday the US State Department said the Gulf nation had made better progress on human rights, including the release of political prisoners. "While we do not think that the human rights situation in Bahrain is adequate...we believe it is important to recognize that the government of Bahrain has made some meaningful progress on human rights reforms and reconciliation," spokesman John Kirby said.

Many will see the timing of the announcement as no coincidence. With last Friday’s attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait, Gulf monarchies as well as the West are grappling with an apparent increased terror threat from Isis.

Unsubstantiated threats on social media have suggested that Bahrain could be the next target on Friday. Those threats have largely been attributed to, Turki al-Binali, a Bahraini preacher who has emerged as one of Isis’s leading ideologues. Bahraini authorities stripped the preacher's citizenship along with that of 71 others in January.

In an apparent response to the threat, Bahraini officials this week met with senior Sunni and Shiite religious leaders to discuss efforts to secure places of worship, including closing mosques after each prayer session to make it easier for caretakers to monitor them.

Despite the fragility of the situation, human rights groups criticised the resumption of military aid. Sarah Margon, Washington director of Human Rights Watch said: "The Obama administration's decision to lift restrictions on security assistance to Bahrain's Defense Forces and National Guard is occurring in the absence of any real or meaningful political reform. Bahrain's jails are bursting at the seams with political detainees, and the recent prison sentence for political opposition leader Al Wefaq Secretary General Sheikh Ali Salman means that a political accommodation remains as far away as ever.”