(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Thousands of Bahrainis have begun to march toward the town of Sitra, ahead of a massive funeral procession for a teenager who was brutally killed by Saudi-backed Bahraini forces.
The Saturday march marks the third and final day of the funeral procession and an anti-regime rally is scheduled to be held after the funeral ceremony.
Ali Jawad, the 14-year-old boy was killed on Wednesday after Eid al-Fitr prayers. He was shot at close range, directly in the face, by a tear gas canister fired by Saudi-backed regime forces in the southern city of Sitra.
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across the Persian Gulf state, since Jawad was killed, to condemn the murder.
The killing of Jawad came a few days after a televised speech by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa announced a decision to pardon the demonstrators arrested during the country's popular uprising that broke out in February.
During his Sunday speech, King Hamad also promised to reinstate employees and students who have been dismissed for participating in anti-regime protests.
The remarks were immediately met with street protests by Bahraini people and activists, who deem the remarks an insult to hundreds of political activists held in regime prisons and the majority of Bahraini public who have turned against the US- and Saudi-backed Al Khalifa regime.
“The picture of the situation on the ground is totally different from the speech he delivered,” said President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab, referring to the continued killing of protesters.
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