Riot police
On 13 March, riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to force a group of hundreds of anti-government protesters from blocking the capital's financial district, where demonstrators have been camped out for more than a week. A video that appeared on YouTube showed one protester being shot with a tear-gas canister at close range. Riot police also encircled demonstrators at Pearl Roundabout, the focal point of protests in Bahrain for nearly a month, firing tear gas canisters, while other protesters staged a number of marches on symbolic targets – the prime minister's office, the foreign ministry, and the state television building, among others. According to testimony collected by Physicians for Human Rights, riot police fired live shotgun ammunition into the crowd and beat protesters with batons and butts of guns. Bahrain's interior ministry said eight police were injured during the operation to disperse protesters, including removing tents. A Pakistani construction worker, Irfan Muhammad suffered serious brain injuries after he was allegedly brutally assaulted and had his tongue cut out by anti-government protesters.