At least four people have been killed and hundreds are wounded in the Bahraini government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests. In an overnight raid, heavily armed riot police attacked thousands of demonstrators in the capital Manama with rubber bullets, tear gas and concussion grenades. Women and children were among the wounded. More than 600 people have reportedly been treated for injuries, and some 60 people are said to be missing. Bahrain is a key U.S. government ally in the Middle East, hosting the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. On Wednesday, new White House Press Secretary Jay Carney continued the Obama administration’s equivocal stance on the Bahrain protests.

Jay Carney: “Bahrain, like all the countries in the region, needs to respect the universal rights of its citizens, their right to protest, the right to have their grievances heard, and that they should refrain from violence, on both sides. And, you know, we are obviously watching events in Bahrain and around the region very closely.”