(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Witnesses say regime forces on Wednesday fired tear gas and rubber bullets to prevent demonstrators from reaching the site of Pearl Square, now called Martyr's Square.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. The demonstrators called for the downfall of the ruling Al Khalifa family. They also vowed to continue their demonstrations until the collapse of the regime.
The violence came hours after a 27-year-old Bahraini woman, who was brutally hit by regime forces in the head during an anti-government protest rally, died of her injuries.
The victim, identified as Zahra Saleh, was injured in the forehead by an iron rod hurled by Saudi-backed Bahraini troops during an anti-regime protest in the village of Daih on November 18.
Since the beginning of anti-government protests in Bahrain, scores of protesters have been killed and many others have been wounded in the Saudi-backed crackdown.
Bahraini authorities have also detained hundreds of activists and sacked thousands of public sector workers for supporting anti-regime protests.
Bahrainis have been holding street protests demanding an end to the rule of Al Khalifa dynasty since mid-February. Peaceful demonstrators are attacked with live rounds and tear gas.
On November 23, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, set up to investigate reports of rights abuse during the crackdown, announced that the regime had used ''excessive force'' to crush the uprising.
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