(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Police clashed with Shia marchers on Sunday, less than a week after the kingdom, repealed an emergency law that quashed weeks of protests.
"Some groups on Sunday exploit the commemoration of the martyrdom of the Imam Hadi (a) to stage marches and repeat political slogans." the official news agency quoted spokesman Tareq bin Dayna as saying.
"A number of those provoking disturbances were arrested ... and have been transferred to public prosecution."
Residents and leading Shia opposition group Wefaq said on Sunday that police used tear gas, rubber bullets, sound grenades and birdshot to break up marches in several Shi'ite villages around the capital Manama.
Marchers in some of the parades shouted "Down, down (King) Hamad" and "The people want the fall of the regime." Some of the gatherings were purely religious, residents said.
The unrest came just two days after the tiny island kingdom's Formula One Grand Prix was reinstated in a public relations coup for the royal family after over two months of martial law. Its original March date had been postponed due to protests at the time.
/106