Bahrainis held demonstrations in several villages on Thursday, which was the first of three days of anti-regime protests called by the main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters, who were chanting "Only to Allah we kneel" and "Down with (King) Hamad."

The demonstrators also defied a heavy security presence to set up makeshift roadblocks with burning tires and felled trees in the villages, where protests have prompted clashes with regime forces.

The opposition has called on the ruling Al Khalifa family to surrender its grip on key cabinet posts in favor of an elected government.

A youth coalition has also urged people to spill out onto the streets on Friday and try to reach the iconic site of the protests which used to be called Pearl Square.

Bahraini authorities razed to the ground the square in the center of Bahrain's capital Manama in 2011.

Bahrain has been the scene of almost daily protests against the Al Khalifa regime since February 2011, when thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets, calling for the royal family to leave power.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini regime in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested by security forces.

BA/BA