Bahraini forces clash with anti-regime demonstrators

Clashes have broken out between anti-regime protesters and security forces in Bahrain, as peaceful demonstrations against the ruling Al Khalifa family turns violent across the kingdom.

The violence erupted when regime forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters in several places, including Jerdab and Ma’ameer.

The protesters called on the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.

Earlier in the week, demonstrators staged night-time rallies in the capital, Manama, and in the village of Sanabis, situated in the suburbs of the Bahraini capital, to voice their demand for the ouster of the regime.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain. In March 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to Bahrain to help Manama quash the anti-regime protests.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the Manama regime’s ongoing crackdown on peaceful anti-regime rallies. Amnesty International has expressed concerns over the “continuing detention of prisoners of conscience and the harsh sentences” given by courts in the Persian Gulf country to protesters.