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    January 07, 2012

Pro-Democracy Demonstrators Rally in Bahrain

   VOA News
   Photo: Reuters
   Anti-government protesters holding Bahraini flags walk in front of riot
   police during a protest held by al-Wefaq in Manama, January 7, 2012.

   Hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain gathered Saturday
   for a protest led by the Shi'ite-led opposition, defying a ban by
   police.
   The demonstration near the capital, Manama, was called for by
   opposition groups led by Al Wefaq, a leader of the Shi'ite majority's
   protest movement.
   Riot police blocked roads leading to the main road into Manama, forcing
   demonstrators to gather elsewhere. The protest ended peacefully.
   More than 40 people have died since the unrest in Bahrain began nearly
   a year ago. The protest movement is aimed at breaking the Sunni
   minority's hold on power in the Persian Gulf nation.
   Bahraini security forces faced off against protesters through much of
   2011 in a series of confrontations. Analysts say the protesters have
   drawn inspiration from the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
   In November, the head of a special commission probing the violence said
   the government used excessive force, including the torture of
   detainees, at the height of its crackdown on demonstrators in March
   2011.
   But the report concluded there was no evidence that Gulf-area troops
   committed human rights abuses, after Bahrain called in Saudi troops in
   March to help crush the protests.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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