Saudi police opened fire at a protest march

Saudi police opened fire at a protest march in a restive, oil-rich province of the kingdom on Thursday, wounding at least three, according to witnesses there. The crackdown came a day before a planned “day of rage” throughout the country that officials have said they will not tolerate.

The clash with protesters in the heavily Shiite region underscored long-standing tensions in Saudi society: A sense among its Shiite minority that it is discriminated against by a government practicing a zealous form of Sunni orthodoxy. One resident in Qatif who watched the march, Abdulwahab al-Oraid, said he it was not clear why police opened fire at what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration that started with 100 people and later grew to about 300.

“There is a fear of Friday’s protests,” Mr. Oraid said. “We think this is a message, ‘Don’t protest in any Shiite areas on Friday.’"

Witnesses said bullets had been fired, but they were unclear if they were rubber or other bullets.