On 16 March 2025, demonstrators, including the February 14 Youth Coalition, blocked a road with burning tires in Shahrakkan (Northern) as part of a demonstration against the presence of foreign forces in Bahrain and to commemorate the anniversary of an anti-government demonstrator who was killed by police forces.

Summary

On March 16, 2025, demonstrators including the Youth Coalition held protests in Shahrakhan, northern Bahrain, demanding the withdrawal of foreign forces and blocking roads. This protest, occurring on the memorial day of an anti-government protester killed by police, involved burning tires to block roads, but is assessed as a low-risk localized incident.

Supply-chain impact

• Potential temporary logistics movement delays due to road blockades in northern Bahrain
• Concerns over indirect impact on access routes to Bahrain port, a key oil and gas transportation hub in the Persian Gulf region
• Negative signal for regional energy supply chain reliability if political instability continues in the Middle East
• Potential impact on US military bases and related military logistics given the nature of protests opposing foreign military presence

Watch points

• Whether anti-government protests spread within Bahrain and possibility of blocking access routes to major ports and airports
• Similar protest contagion phenomena among Persian Gulf coastal states and regional energy facility security situations