Anti-regime protests continue in Bahrain despite crackdown

Fresh clashes have erupted between the Saudi-backed Bahraini regime forces and anti-government protesters in the Persian Gulf country as the popular uprising continues in the Arab state

The fighting began after Saudi-backed forces attacked a Wednesday protest rally on the third and final day of funeral processions for a man killed by the regime forces some days ago.

The incident happened in several towns and villages outside the capital, Manama, where the demonstrators shouted anti-regime slogans, demanding the downfall of the Al Khalifa rule.

The clashes came as King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa claimed on Tuesday the “doors to dialogue were, and remain, open.”

The Bahraini monarch also claimed the government has made “significant progress” in implementing reforms in the sectors of “security, judiciary, social policy and media” since February 2011.

Scores of people have lost their lives, many of them under torture in prison, during a popular uprising that began February last year.

Thousands more have been arrested. The protesters want justice and the ouster of the Al Khalifah regime.