Alwaght- Bahrainis on Friday held fresh protests in a number of towns and villages Friday as the tine Persian Gulf monarchy braces for the fifth anniversary of the popular uprising against the al-Khalifah regime.
This week's protests also include a civil disobedience campaign with businesses being shut as store owners coordinated a strike two days ahead of the anniversary of the uprising of February 14, 2011.
The peaceful rallies on Friday turned violent after security forces fire tear gas to disperse the protesters.
The rallies were held in several towns and villages across the country with demonstrators once again calling for the release of political prisoners including the head of Bahrain’s main opposition party, Sheikh Ali Salman.
Authorities on Friday condemned the move, with Tariq al-Hossein, the top security chief in Bahrain, stating that any call for disobedience would amount to “punishable crime.”
Hossein said the Bahraini judiciary will decisively act against any move which could stir unrest in the country. He said those behind the online call for civil disobedience will be detained and prosecuted.
In the village of Nuwaidrat, south of the capital, Manama, clashes erupted between protesters and regime forces.
Since mid-February 2011, multitudes of protesters opposed to the brutal regime have held numerous peaceful rallies in the streets of the island kingdom, demanding their inalienable human rights. The demonstrators gradually demanded the al-Khalifa family to relinquish power.
In response, the regime has dealt with peaceful protesters with a heavy-handed crackdown, killing scores of people, injuring and arresting many more. The regime is also abusing the law by withdrawing citizenship of opposition activists.
