(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Bahraini police fired tear gas and clashed with thousands protesters on Friday, a day after a man was run over and martyred as he fled security forces chasing protesters near Manama, the opposition and a rights group said on Friday.
Tensions have been high in Bahrain since security forces crushed weeks of pro-democracy street protests by the Gulf kingdom's majority Shi'ite Muslims in March.
The police fired tear gas and sound grenades to disperse protesters, and several people were injured during the clashes which went on for several hours in different villages outside the capital Manama, said Matar Matar, a member of the Shi'ite al Wefaq political bloc.
Doha-based Al Jazeera television aired footage of riot police firing tear gas at protesters.
"Many were injured because of excessive force," Matar told a news agency over the telephone. "Many have head injuries which indicates there is an intention to hurt them."
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said demonstrator Ali-Ahmed al-Qassab was trying to flee intelligence officers during clashes between thousands of protesters and riot police on Thursday when a speeding car hit him.
His funeral will be held on Saturday.
"The regime prefers using force and killing people instead of instituting reforms that the people are asking for," Nabeel Rajab, the head of BCHR, told the news agency.
An interior ministry spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Also on Thursday, police detained Zainab al-Khawaja, a human rights activist and daughter of a prominent opposition leader, after she joined the protesters, many of whom chanted slogans against King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Rajab said.
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Tensions have been high in Bahrain since security forces crushed weeks of pro-democracy street protests by the Gulf kingdom's majority Shi'ite Muslims in March.
The police fired tear gas and sound grenades to disperse protesters, and several people were injured during the clashes which went on for several hours in different villages outside the capital Manama, said Matar Matar, a member of the Shi'ite al Wefaq political bloc.
Doha-based Al Jazeera television aired footage of riot police firing tear gas at protesters.
"Many were injured because of excessive force," Matar told a news agency over the telephone. "Many have head injuries which indicates there is an intention to hurt them."
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said demonstrator Ali-Ahmed al-Qassab was trying to flee intelligence officers during clashes between thousands of protesters and riot police on Thursday when a speeding car hit him.
His funeral will be held on Saturday.
"The regime prefers using force and killing people instead of instituting reforms that the people are asking for," Nabeel Rajab, the head of BCHR, told the news agency.
An interior ministry spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Also on Thursday, police detained Zainab al-Khawaja, a human rights activist and daughter of a prominent opposition leader, after she joined the protesters, many of whom chanted slogans against King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Rajab said.
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