AFP/Manama


An anti-government protester runs away after throwing a Molotov cocktail at riot police during clashes in the district of Sitra in Bahrain yesterday. The demonstrators were protesting against the government
holding the F1 Grand Prix next month
A man and a woman died of asphyxiation caused by teargas grenades fired by Bahrain’s security forces to disperse protests in Shia villages, the country’s main opposition group said yesterday.
Ahmed Abdul Nabi, 31, died after a teargas grenade landed in his family’s house in the village of Shahrakan, said a statement by Wefaq, citing family members.
The Shia opposition group said he died due to the “poisoning and asphyxiating gases” used by security forces against Shia youths, who stage frequent protests against the regime.
It provided a picture showing a broken window through which the canister is claimed to have entered the house.
Meanwhile, a woman named Abda Ali Abdul Hussein died on Friday after inhaling gases in the village of Jid Hafs, near the capital Manama, Wefaq said, again citing family members.
The cause of the deaths could not immediately be confirmed.
Thousands demonstrated on Friday after the Shia-led opposition called for several simultaneous protests across villages near Manama, in an act of defiance despite a crackdown last March which quelled a month-long uprising demanding democratic change.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday criticised Bahraini forces for their “disproportionate use of force”.