(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Bahraini police are clashing with residents of a besieged town that is home to a Shiite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim.
The cause for the confrontation on Wednesday in Diraz wasn't immediately clear.
Residents of the town and activists say that riot police first massed outside, then entered the town with heavy arms and assulted Sheikh Isa Qassim's home.
They say locals confronted the police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. All requested anonymity as an activist previously faced charges for speaking to The Associated Press.
The town is home to Sheikh Isa Qassim, who lost his citizenship illegally in June. His supporters say he's targeted by Bahrain's Al khalifa regime as part of a wider crackdown on dissents.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has seen a wave of anti-regime protests since mid-February 2011.
Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others wounded or detained amid Manama’s ongoing crackdown on dissent and widespread discrimination against the Shia majority.
Several human rights groups have frequently censured the Al Khalifah regime for rampant human rights abuses against the opposition and anti-regime demonstrators.
/129