Amateur footage showed regime security forces firing tear gas to disperse young demonstrators in the eastern village of Ma’ameer.

Similar demonstrations were held in the villages of Sitra, Hamala and Nuwaidrat.

In Hamala, protesters clashed with regime forces after blocking a road with burning tires.

They chanted slogans against the ruling Al Khalifa family and hurled Molotov cocktails at police.

Bahrain has been the scene of street protests since 2011, during which scores of people have been killed and hundreds more detained.

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

Amnesty International has censured the Manama regime for its “relentless repression” of anti-regime protesters, blaming Bahraini security forces for their repeated use of “excessive force to quash anti-government protests.”

On February 14, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Bahraini regime to respect its “international human rights obligations” in dealing with peaceful protests in the country.

SHI/SHI