Bahraini troops attack anti-regime protesters, many injured and arrested

At least 45 Bahraini demonstrators have been injured after Saudi-backed regime forces used tear gas and birdshot to break up three separate anti-government protests.At least 45 Bahraini demonstrators have been injured after Saudi-backed regime forces used tear gas and birdshot to break up three separate anti-government protests.Witnesses say hundreds of Bahrainis took to the streets in villages outside the capital, Manama, late on Thursday to demand an end to the rule of Al Khalifa dynasty, but the protests were heavily crushed.Bahraini forces also arrested 40 people, including the daughter of prominent opposition activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja early on Friday.Bahraini activists say Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested as she tried to hold a protest sit-in at al-Badei street close to the capital."She had taken part in the protests and then headed to that street to start a sit-in. That is when she was arrested," Reuters quoted the head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, Mohammed al-Maskati, as saying."From the information we have managed to gather from lawyers and the families of protesters, at least 40 others have been arrested as well," Maskati said, adding that regime forces used tear gas to disperse the protesters. There were no immediate reports of injuries.Meanwhile, Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq, has announced that the authorities detained a leading female member, Ahlam al-Khuzai, at the airport early on Friday as she was travelling to Tunisia to attend a conference organized by Amnesty International."Al-Wefaq is following with great concern the arrest of its general secretariat member Khuzai.... She is still in custody," it said. /129