The Special Security Force Command ( ar, قيادة قوة الأمن الخاصة) (SSFC) is a

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

body in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

under the command of the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. The SSFC is more commonly referred to as the "Special Security Forces", the "Special Forces", "Bahrain Special Security Forces (BSSF) or as the "

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...

" ( ar, الشغب).

Accusations

The Special Security Forces have been accused of

human rights abuse Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

s while trying to suppress pro-democratic activity in Bahrain. The SSFC has been at the frontline of the Bahrain government's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters during the 2011 Bahraini uprising in the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...

. In November 2007, Bahrain signed a cooperation agreement with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

under which French police officers working in the

Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité The Compagnies républicaines de sécurité (, ''Republican Security Corps''), abbreviated CRS, are the general reserve of the French National Police. They are primarily involved in general security missions but the task for which they are be ...

have provided training to Bahrain's SSFC. A SSFC company was deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

to provide base security at the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Camp Leatherneck Camp Leatherneck was a 1,600 acre United States Marine Corps base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The site was mostly in Washir District and was conjoined with Camp Bastion, which was the main British military base in Afghanistan and Camp Sho ...

References

Government paramilitary forces Government agencies of Bahrain Human rights abuses in Bahrain Torture in Bahrain {{Bahrain-stub