The National Bank of Bahrain’s branch in the town of Jidhafs is boarded up after it was firebombed twice in the week before the country hosts Formula One motor-racing. Across one of the shutters, attackers spray-painted the word: “Avoid.”
Acts of violence have intensified in the run-up to the April 22 Grand Prix, the biggest international event in the island kingdom since a crackdown last year on pro-democracy protests led by the Shiite Muslim majority. Last year’s race in Bahrain was canceled due to the clashes.
