Protesters attacked in Bahrain villages

19 September, 2011 14:35

As Bahrain struggles with its six-month-old political crisis, forces of the country’s regime have once again attacked protesters in several villages, Press TV reports.Saudi-backed forces fired tear gas at hundreds of anti-regime protesters overnight, according to witnesses.Â The demonstrators in the villages of Dair, Maqaba and Dumistan demanded an end to the rule of Al Khalifa family.Â

On Sunday, similar clashes broke out in Dumistan, where a funeral procession for a protester turned into a protest rally.Thousands of people attended the funeral of the 29-year-old Jafar Hassan Yousef, who died in a hospital after he had been seriously injured and spent several months in a coma.Â

The victim had been struck on the head by regime forces and slipped into a coma in March.Â The Persian Gulf kingdom has been gripped by months of protests demanding political reform.Â

Bahraini forces, backed by troops from Saudi Arabia, are responding heavy-handedly to protests. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds more are behind bars.Â

Bahrain protesters attacked in Karzakan

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have attacked anti-regime protesters as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to hold a mass funeral procession for a killed individual, Press TV reports.The attack was reportedly carried out in the village of Karzakan on Sunday.Â

The mourners, who came from all walks of life, took to the streets after the noon prayers, chanting anti-regime slogans.Â Jafar Hassan Yousef died in a hospital on Sunday after he was seriously injured by Saudi-backed Bahraini regime forces and spent several months in coma.Â

The 29-Year-old Yousef was attacked by the regime forces in mid-March.Â Thousands of anti-government protesters have been staging demonstrations in Bahrain since mid-February, demanding political reforms and a constitutional monarchy — a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.Â

Scores of people have been killed and many others injured in the Saudi-backed crackdowns on peaceful protesters in the Persian Gulf sheikhdom.Â