Residents in neighbouring countries have been avoiding travelling to Bahrain in light of the protests which have hit the country.

Some students of Bahrain-based universities did not show up for lectures yesterday and plan to stay away today for fear of being caught up in possible clashes.

Among those who chose to stay at home was Saudi businessman Ahmed Ibrahim, 25.

'I refuse to go to Bahrain because of the protests,' he told our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN).

'I worry the situation may go out of control and it will not be good for non-Bahrainis to be present.'

Ibrahim, from the Eastern Province, said he hoped the protests would stop so that he could travel to monitor his newly launched construction business.

A Saudi female student said her family stopped her from going to her lectures yesterday because of fears for her safety.

'My parents were following news with concern and decided I will not attend my lectures due to this,' said the 22-year-old, also from the Eastern Province.

'Until the issue calms down, they plan to not let me go.

'I don't know how my professors will view this though,' she added.

Another Saudi studying for a Master's degree in management information systems in Bahrain also chose to stay away.

'My university is in Juffair,' said the man, who only wished to be identified as Ahmed.

'The roads leading to the university could be dangerous as far as I know, so I decided not to go to university,' Ahmed added.

Meanwhile, King Fahad Causeway officials dismissed rumours that the bridge linking Bahrain and Saudi had been closed for visitors travelling to Manama.

Causeway authority general manager Bader Abdullah Al Otaishan said the route had been operating as normal since the protests began.

'Rumours shared on websites and via text messages are completely untrue,' Al Otaishan said.

He said Saudi students travelling to Bahrain had been coming in the past days without problems.

'Students have been travelling through the causeway to attend their classes as normal,' he said.

'Both sides of the causeway are functioning as normal with no problems witnessed.'-TradeArabia News Service