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Thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated near Manama yesterday urging democratic reforms, part of a campaign of protests planned by the political opposition ahead of next week’s Formula One Grand Prix. |
Police used teargas and sound bombs to break up a gathering of several hundred people in Sanabes, witnesses said.
Further south, a 14-year-old boy was severely wounded in the face when police fired buckshot and teargas at demonstrators, the main Shia opposition group Wefaq said on its website.
But in Bilad Al-Qadim, several thousand people demonstrated peacefully, witnesses said.
Under the banner “Democracy is our right”, the mainly Shia opposition is organising a week of protests that began on Friday to coincide with the April 19-22 Grand Prix.
On Friday, Wefaq chief Sheikh Ali Salman said the action was intended to support “demands for democratic transition”.
“We do not want to hold up the race, but we are trying to benefit from the increased media presence,” he said.
Salman called on his supporters to attend a demonstration planned for April 19, as the event kicks off on the Sakhir circuit south of the capital.
A second opposition group, the February 14 Movement, organised another protest on Thursday night in the village of Khamis that was broken up by police.
