Protesters hold anti-regime demos across Bahrain

People have taken to streets across Bahrain to protest against the Al Khalifa regime following the death of an anti-regime protester.

Friday’s protest, dubbed “The Demands Remain,” followed the death of Bahraini activist Abulaziz al-Abbar.

“Abbar has been martyred today, after police directly shot his head on February 23,” said al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the main opposition bloc in the country, on its Twitter feed earlier in the day.

In Abbar’s hometown, the village of Sanabis which is situated in the west of the capital Manama, police used force against the demonstrators to put an end to the protest.

In the village of Daih, also in the west of the capital, protesters chanted slogans against violations committed by the ruling Al Khalifa family.

Sheikh Ali Salman, the head of al-Wefaq, was also seen among the crowd at a protest in the village of Salmabad, southwest of Manama.

Similar demonstrations were also held in the eastern island of Sitra.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested.

Physicians for Human Rights says doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they have “evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police” in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.