SABOTEURS have been stealing boulders from historical sites in A'ali to set up roadblocks.

Area MP Ahmed Al Saati said youths had cut barbed wire fences surrounding the village's burial mounds, which date from the Dilmun period more than 4,000 years ago, to get inside and take the boulders away.

They are then used to block entrances to the village during clashes with police, he told the GDN.

"We have to make one thing clear, stones are not more precious than people and their safety," said the Bahrain Bloc president.

"But the youths have to be aware about the value of the stones they are removing to block the road.

"They think their regular blockade of roads will exert pressure on the leadership to fulfil certain political demands.

"If the stones are in their original location, then the village's identity will be saved for future generations and A'ali is already a well-known historical village that sees many tourists."

Mr Al Saati, who is also parliament's legislative and legal affairs committee vice-chairman, said the boulders from historical sites were often broken into smaller pieces when they were removed from the road by clean-up companies.

"Those artefacts are not garbage, they are valuables and it is shameful that they are being dealt with in this manner," he said.

Mr Al Saati said the lack of protection for the burial mounds meant it was at risk of further misuse.

"The Culture Ministry has several times fixed barbed wires, but for a while it has been left unattended after repeated vandalism," he warned.

"Worse is feared in future in regard to this historically significant location and some real action has to be taken to protect it."

mohammed@gdn.com.bh