(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Bahrain's Saudi-backed security forces have attacked demonstrators near Manama as protesters continue to call for the removal of the Al Khalifa royal family from power.
Regime forces in the town of Nuwaidrat resorted to violence on Friday to disperse protesters who have been calling on the Al Khalifa ruling family to step down.
Anti-regime protesters were attacked by the regime forces on the island of Sitra while more people took to the streets in other towns and villages around the capital.
Thousands of people took to the streets in the Bilad al-Qadim area in response to a call for weekly protest rallies by Bahrain's largest opposition group, al-Wefaq.
The protesters were calling for justice and equality in the Persian Gulf kingdom.
On Friday, Bahrain's top cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim highlighted political reform as a religious demand, noting that religion and politics should not be separate.
He also condemned the Bahraini government for trying to transmute the popular revolution into a sectarian divide.
Meanwhile, human rights groups have condemned Manama's political ploy in initiating national dialogue, saying the move is aimed at influencing the international community.
They argue that the Bahraini regime is continuing its severe repression of protesters despite the ongoing national talks launched earlier this month.
Human Rights Watch has also urged Manama to probe the dismissal of thousands of workers from state-linked firms and government jobs over participation in anti-government protests earlier this year.
Thousands of anti-government protesters have been waging protest rallies in Bahrain since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa rule, which has been in power for over 40 years.
In mid-March, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed their military forces in crisis-hit Bahrain to assist the Manama regime in its brutal crackdown on popular protests.
Scores of protesters have been killed -- many under torture -- and numerous others detained and transferred to unknown locations during the regime's brutal onslaught on protesters.
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Regime forces in the town of Nuwaidrat resorted to violence on Friday to disperse protesters who have been calling on the Al Khalifa ruling family to step down.
Anti-regime protesters were attacked by the regime forces on the island of Sitra while more people took to the streets in other towns and villages around the capital.
Thousands of people took to the streets in the Bilad al-Qadim area in response to a call for weekly protest rallies by Bahrain's largest opposition group, al-Wefaq.
The protesters were calling for justice and equality in the Persian Gulf kingdom.
On Friday, Bahrain's top cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim highlighted political reform as a religious demand, noting that religion and politics should not be separate.
He also condemned the Bahraini government for trying to transmute the popular revolution into a sectarian divide.
Meanwhile, human rights groups have condemned Manama's political ploy in initiating national dialogue, saying the move is aimed at influencing the international community.
They argue that the Bahraini regime is continuing its severe repression of protesters despite the ongoing national talks launched earlier this month.
Human Rights Watch has also urged Manama to probe the dismissal of thousands of workers from state-linked firms and government jobs over participation in anti-government protests earlier this year.
Thousands of anti-government protesters have been waging protest rallies in Bahrain since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa rule, which has been in power for over 40 years.
In mid-March, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed their military forces in crisis-hit Bahrain to assist the Manama regime in its brutal crackdown on popular protests.
Scores of protesters have been killed -- many under torture -- and numerous others detained and transferred to unknown locations during the regime's brutal onslaught on protesters.
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