Bahrain protests alive despite loss of square

MANAMA: Bahrain's opposition lost a strong card when police used deadly force to crush a month-old sit-in at Pearl Square but the pro-democracy movement insists it is very much alive.

Shiite demonstrators who dominated the anti-regime protests retreated to their neighbourhoods and villages around Manama after security forces on Wednesday stormed the square that became the symbol of their protest.

But a string of sporadic demonstrations have kept the opposition's standoff with authorities alive and the police busy.

"Violent policies aimed at silencing people who demand their rights will lead nowhere," Bahrain's most revered Shiite cleric, Sheikh Issa Qassem, told worshippers at a mosque in Diraz outside the capital.

Following the prayers on Friday, the Muslim day of rest, thousands staged a protest outside the mosque.

Many then braved a heavy security deployment and drove 25 kilometres (15 miles) to Sitra where thousands turned the funeral of a protester into an anti-regime protest.