Despite heavy security presence and a ban on demonstrations, thousands of anti-government protesters poured into the streets across Bahrain following the Friday Prayers.
Bahraini security dispersed the crowds using teargas, buckshots and stun grenades. Many protesters are reported to be injured.
A prominent Shia cleric said their campaign for political reforms would not be silenced by "brutal force'' and that they would continue their protest rallies until their demands are met.
"The brutal force and abusive language being deployed against us will never destroy our will and desire to achieve our rights and dignity,'' Sheik Isa Qassim said in a sermon in Duraz -- an opposition stronghold northwest of Manama.
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