Teenage protester shot dead amid clashes on Bahrain uprising anniversary

A teenage protester was killed in a village near the Bahraini capital Manama on Thursday, as demonstrators clashed with police during a rally marking the second anniversary of the country’s uprising.

According to the website of main Bahraini opposition group Wefaq, 16-year-old Ali Ahmed Ibrahim al-Jazeeri died in the village of Diya from what it alleged were internationally banned exploding bullets. The country’s interior ministry confirmed the death on its Twitter account, but did not release the identity of the deceased, AFP reported.

Protests started early in the morning in a few villages, as demonstrators marked the second anniversary of the beginning of the popular uprising in the country. According to the International Federation for Human Rights, at least 80 people have died in the violence over the past two years.

The latest rally also turned violent, with security forces firing shotguns and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Demonstrators retaliated by throwing petrol bombs at officers, witnesses said.

Nationwide protests are set to take place across Bahrain on Thursday and Friday following calls by opposition activists.

On Wednesday, Bahraini police fired tear gas and stun grenades in a crackdown on hundreds of protesters in the capital Manama. Demonstrators attempted to march to Pearl Square, which was occupied two years ago when the protest against the country’s ruling monarchy first began.

Peace in Bahrain can only be reached “through a dialogue, and the regime has to realize that,” Bahraini activist Dominic Kavakeb told RT.

“Realistically we are looking at two years, in which we’ve seen no reforms, we’ve seen nothing changed since the start of the uprising two years ago,” he added. “This really shows the lack of reforms, the continuous human right abuses, the continuous repressions taking place in the streets of Bahrain.”

R.S