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Bahraini protesters call for prime minister resignation

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Bahrainis have staged a fresh anti-regime demonstration near the capital, Manama, demanding the resignation of country’s long-time prime minister.

The protest was held along the Budaiya highway, west of Manama, on Friday following a call by Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq with protesters expressing their anger over a new strict law which bans protests in the capital.

They also called for the release of political prisoners. There were no immediate reports of clashes between protesters and regime forces.

“Our homeland cannot remain a hostage to a small group that controls power and wealth,” al-Wefaq said in a statement on Thursday, adding, “It is the right of the Bahraini people, including all its groups, to have a peaceful rotation of power.”

Bahrain’s Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, an uncle of King Hamad, has been in his post since 1971.

The fresh demonstration comes despite the ongoing crackdown on anti-regime protests.

On August 14, regime forces fired tear gas and bird shots to disperse anti-regime demonstrations in several towns near the capital.

In July, Bahrain passed a law banning all protests in Manama.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011, demanding political reforms and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

Scores have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more detained since the popular uprising in Bahrain began.

Protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically-elected government and an end to rights violations are met.

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