DUBAI: Bahrain shut down a prominent independent newspaper Sunday “until further notice” over an article about unrest in Morocco, state news agency BNA reported, the second time the publication has been banned this year.

Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority issued the order first verbally Sunday and later through a statement published by BNA, said Mansour al-Jamri, the paper’s editor-in-chief. The Information Ministry said in a statement that the closure came over a story “affecting the relations of the kingdom of Bahrain with other countries.”

Jamri identified that story as a column on Page 19 of its Sunday edition focused on recent protests in northern Morocco’s Al-Hoceima. The area has been gripped by unrest since the death of a fish vendor in October, who was crushed by a garbage compactor while trying to save fish that officials had confiscated.

Jamri called the order a “total surprise” but said he hoped to try to reverse the measure. In the past, “we would be in touch with the ministry and work things out,” he said.

The sudden closure of the daily Al-Wasat marks the third time authorities have ordered it to stop publishing a print edition since the island’s 2011 Arab Spring protests and comes just after officials briefly banned it in January from publishing online.

The move coincides with a crackdown by the government on the opposition that has included shutting down main political groups and targeting activists. Al-Wasat is widely considered as the only independent newspaper in Bahrain, however it is seen as supporting the views of the opposition.

“This is a harsh and shocking measure,” Jamri said.

“We are an independent newspaper; we publish stories covering both points of view,” he added.