Special Security Force Command

Special Security Forces Command

قيادة قوة الأمن الخاصة
Agency overview
Formed	1930
Jurisdiction	Government of Bahrain
Headquarters	Diwan Fort, Manama
Motto	Special Security Forces, Always Forward!
Agency executive	Brigadier General Abdullah Al-Zayed, Commander of Special Security Forces
Parent department	Ministry of Interior
Website	http://www.interior.gov.bh/default_en.aspx

The Special Security Force Command (Arabic: قيادة قوة الأمن الخاصة‎‎) is a paramilitary law enforcement body in Bahrain under the command of the Ministry of the Interior. 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" (Arabic: الشغب‎‎).

A majority of the personnel of the SSFC are recruited from outside of Bahrain, from Arab countries like Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. There are reportedly no Bahraini Shia among the ranks of the SSFC.

Accusations

The Special Security Forces have been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including torture, in trying to suppress opposition political activity in Bahrain. The SSFC has been at the front line of the Bahrain government's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters during the Bahraini uprising in the Arab Spring.

In November 2007, Bahrain signed a cooperation agreement with France under which French police officers working in the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité have provided training to Bahrain's SSFC. A company of the SSFC were deployed to Afghanistan to provide base security at the United States's Camp Leatherneck.