US-backed Saudi Forces shot dead Muslim Teenage protester in Saudi Arabia’s Qatif

An 18-year-old Saudi protester has died of his injuries, a day after he was shot in the chest by security forces in the eastern part of the country, Press TV reports.

According to the Saudi interior ministry, Hussain Yousef al-Qallaf, who succumbed to his wounds on Saturday, was among a number of young protesters who clashed with regime forces in the Qatif region of the oil-rich Eastern Province on Friday.

The ministry claimed that the protesters shot and killed a policeman and injured another as they were patrolling the area, but did not provide further details about the incident.

Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province has been the hub of a growing anti-monarchy sentiment.

In a demonstration on Friday, protesters demanded the release of teenage activist Muhammad al-Shakhouri and other political activists.

Shakhouri was injured and arrested on July 27 and now is in a military hospital in the city of Dhahran.

The Saudi authorities say Shakhouri had been among the 23 most wanted men in Qatif. He was protesting the detention of prominent cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr when he was detained.

Sheikh Nemr was injured and arrested by Saudi security forces of the Al Saud regime while driving from a farm to his house in Qatif on July 8.

Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in the Kingdom’s east, mainly in Qatif and Awamiyah.

The demonstrators called for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.