Alalam - Bahrain

Videos and photographs posted by activists online appeared to show around a dozen police vehicles and armoured cars in Diraz village where Ayatollah Isa Qassim lives surrounded by youths maintaining a round-the-clock vigil to prevent his arrest.

The videos and still images showed the police firing tear gas at protesters. Ayatollah Isa Qassim is the Shia majority's most revered cleric in Bahrain.

Ayatollah Isa Qassim went on trial in June and faces expulsion from the country after authorities revoked his citizenship in May.The ayatollah and his supporters have denied the charges.

Bahrain's regime dissolved the main opposition al-Wefaq group over the summer and detained dozen of top human rights activist, prompting protests by human right organization and United Nations.

The island kingdom has been hit by unrest since 2011 "Arab Spring" protests led by the Shiite community were repressed by force with help from Persian Gulf Arab neighbors mostly Saudi Arabia.

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