According to witnesses interviewed by Physicians for Human Rights, hundreds of fully armed riot police arrived on the scene and immediately began firing tear gas and sound grenades into the crowds to cause panic.

[2]: 71 Mohammed Albuflasa, a former officer in the Bahrain Defence Force, disappeared after he gave an evening speech at the roundabout calling for national unity between Sunnis and Shia, and expressing support of the protests.

[2]: 71  In an evening address on state television to mark the occasion of Mawlid, King Hamad offered condolences for the two deaths, and announced the establishment of a committee to investigate the events of the past two days.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, set up by the King to report on the events of February and March, did not see any evidence to support the government's claim that protesters were armed.

[2]: 74, 231–2 The government claimed that they found pistols, bullets, and a large quantity of knives, daggers, swords, and other sharp objects,[2]: 74  in addition to Hezbollah flags[16] at the roundabout.

At a news conference, Foreign Minister Khalid ibn Ahmad Al Khalifah alleged, and expressed his surprise, that protesters had attacked police.

[16] Al Wefaq, the National Democratic Action Society, and five other opposition political parties issued a joint statement rejecting the government's charge that the demonstrators were armed, and condemning "the heinous massacre" perpetrated by police.

[25] On 22 February, a Martyr's March was announced and a funeral of one of the protesters killed earlier in the week also took place,[26] along with the expected arrival of Hasan Mushaima, the leader of the opposition group Haq movement.

The Shia Ulama Council called for a big rally on 25 February, after Friday prayers to mark a day of mourning for the protesters killed by security forces.

"[citation needed] The BBC News reported that crowds of more than fifteen thousand continued to gather in Pearl Square without signs of police or army presence on the streets.

[36] Meanwhile, opposition leader Hassan Mushaima remained in Lebanon where he alleged that he was being denied passage to Bahrain contrary to promises by the government that he would no longer be wanted for arrest.

[citation needed] Opposition leader Hasan Mushaima was released by Lebanese authorities after being detained for two days due to an Interpol warrant that had been issued in 2010.

[42] By 2 March, anti-government protesters continued to occupy the Pearl Roundabout, while a pro-government rally was convened at the Al Fateh centre in Manama and believed to be the largest national gathering in the history of Bahrain.

[44] Bahrain's lower chamber agreed to discuss the following week (decision of acceptance was to be issued on 29 March) the mass resignation (following the 14 February killing of a protester and the injury of several more) of the eighteen lawmakers representing Al Wefaq.

[45] On 3 March, police intervened with tear gas to disperse young Sunnis (Originally Syrian ) and indigenous Bahrani Shi'a Muslims who clashed in Hamad Town.

[46] The same day, Abduljalil Khalil, a senior leader of the Shia opposition, said that they were prepared to accept the ruling family's offer of entering into a dialogue to address their political grievances.

Sheikh Ali Salman, the head of the Islamic National Accord Association, the main Shia political formation, called for Sunni-Shia harmony, following the sectarian clashes a day earlier.

[51] 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.

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.

[52] 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.

[4] On 14 March, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), a six-nation regional grouping which includes Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates agreed to send troops of the Peninsula Shield Force to guard key facilities, such as oil and gas installations and financial institutions, at the request of the Bahraini government.

[59] On 15 March, the king of Bahrain declared a three-month state of emergency, authorising the nation's armed forces chief to take all measures to "protect the safety of the country and its citizens".

[4] The International Committee of the Red Cross responded: "It is totally unacceptable to attack those providing medical care and to obstruct the safe passage of ambulances.

[77] Leading Shia cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, said during Friday prayers in Diraz that people were demanding their rights to political reform and that they "do not believe in violence that authorities are trying to push them to."

[80] In the early hours of the day, Nabeel Rajab, the president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights was briefly detained by dozens of uniformed Bahraini security forces along with 20 to 25 masked men, some armed with rifles.

[80] Al Jazeera reported that the main opposition groups had eased conditions for talks with the government a day after the king pledged to bring reforms to end the protests.

The largest Shia opposition party, Al Wefaq, also called for the release of all prisoners and asked for an end to the security crackdown and a complete withdrawal of all GCC troops.

[88] According to Al Wefaq, a Bahraini political society, a 71-year-old man died of asphyxiation in his home after police fired tear gas in the village of Ma'ameer.

It also said that the number of detainees was 173 – including five women, two of whom were pregnant – and that security forces raided Sheikh Abdul Jalil al-Miqdad house early on 27 March and arrested him.

[99] Ayat Al-Qurmezi,a twenty-year-old poet, was arrested for reciting a poem critical of the government during the pro-democracy protests in Pearl Square, the main gathering place for demonstrators, in February.