Bahrain has suffered from chronic, often deadly, violence since the authorities brutally suppressed an Arab Spring-inspired movement in 2011 calling for a constitutional monarchy.

The demonstrators near the capital Manama hurled rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades, the sources said.

At the same time, the interior ministry said on Twitter that Molotov cocktails had been thrown at security forces, but gave no details.

Jafar al-Dirazi, 22, was arrested in December 2013. He died in jail on Wednesday after he was subjected to torture and denied medical treatment.

Dirazi is the latest victim of the Al Khalifa regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent.

More than 140 Bahrainis have been killed by security forces since February 2011, when the Bahraini uprising began in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters have since held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

NJF/NJF