Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Bahrain has sought to purchase a huge amount of tear gas to quell Shi’ite unrest.

An opposition group has released documents of a Bahrain government tender for close to two million tear gas and other grenades. The tender was dated June 16, 2013 and issued by Bahrain’s Interior Ministry.

The United States is said to have blocked tear gas exports to Bahrain in 2011.

But Washington has maintained the flow of military equipment to the Gulf Cooperation Council kingdom, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

“Tear gas is supposed to be ‘non-lethal’, but Bahrain’s police use large amounts of tear gas in residential areas, even when there are no protests, and sometimes shoot tear gas directly into houses,” the group, Bahrain
Watch, said.

The tender specified the requirement for 1.6 million tear gas shells, 90,000 tear gas grenades and 145,000 stun grenades. The Interior Ministry oversees Bahrain’s police and security forces, which clash with Shi’ite
protesters on a nearly daily basis.

“The police also fire the canisters directly at people’s heads, which
has caused serious injuries and deaths,” Bahrain Watch said.

Another monitoring group, Physicians for Human Rights, said 39 people
have died from tear gas grenade fire by Bahraini anti-riot police.

Physicians for Human Rights released a report in 2012 that asserted that
police launch tear gas at close range toward protesters and other civilians.

Bahrain Watch cited suppliers of tear gas to Bahrain. The group
identified them as South Korea’s CNO Tech and DaeKwang Chemical as well as
the German-South African joint venture Rheinmetall Denel.

“DaeKwang Chemical Corp. and CNO Tech have exported over 1.5 million
pieces of tear gas to Bahrain between 2011 and 2012,” Bahrain Watch said.

  1.6 million tear gas shells ordered, Physicians for Human Rights, Report: Bahraini police orders 2 million tear gas grenades, Shi’ite protesters