Several wounded as Kuwait protesters clash with police

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s Interior Ministry yesterday blamed “troublemakers and agitators” for clashes with police at an anti-government protest where several people were wounded and six arrested.
The ministry said that the security forces had on Monday exercised restraint after protesters left the square where peaceful protests are allowed and marched in a procession toward policemen.
“Based on a pre-planned plot, a number of troublemakers and agitators ... assaulted security men by pelting rocks and bottles at them,” wounding several policemen and protesters, the ministry said.
Kuwaiti riot police late Monday used batons to beat up opposition protesters as they marched in a procession following a rally in Kuwait City against an attempt to change the electoral constituency law.
Opposition activists have claimed that it was the riot police who sparked the confrontation as they tried to stop the peaceful march. They said at least four protesters were wounded and six others were arrested.
Defense lawyers said yesterday that authorities decided to detain those arrested for at least one more day pending interrogations and that they sent three of them to hospital for medical treatment.
In a comment posted on Twitter, the National Front, an umbrella for opposition groups, called for a sit-in later yesterday to protest the arrests and police brutality.