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

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 Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

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" * Ministr ...

. 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 The 2011 Bahraini uprising was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the Shia-dominant and some Sunni Islam, Sunni minority Bahraini opposition from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spr ...

in the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...

. 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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

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 territori ...

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