Bahrainis rally to mark anniversary of desecration of mosques

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Bahrain to mark the anniversary of the demolition of Shia mosques by the Al Khalifa regime.

The mass rally, which started on Friday in the northwestern village of Diraz and will end in the western village of Saar next week, was organized by the National Democratic opposition parties.

The weeklong protest was launched to mark the second anniversary of the regime’s destruction of 38 Shia mosques in the country.

The campaign, dubbed the Week of the Demolished Mosques, will include various popular events to defend the holy places in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

The Bahraini revolution began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring Persian Gulf states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

The protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.