Sitra: Bahraini police clashed with anti-government protesters on Saturday as residents tried to demonstrate against the country's holding of a Formula One race next month.
Hundreds of riot police backed by dark blue armoured vehicles and jeeps patrolled the streets of Sitra, a poor district southeast of Manama where youths threw petrol bombs and stones at security forces who responded with tear gas canisters, Reuters witnesses said.
Sitra has long been a flashpoint area where Shiite Muslim youths vent anger against a government they feel marginalises them politically and economically.
The government blames Shiite clerics for the communal conflict, saying they had turned people against the state and incited Shi'ites to raise the temperature on the streets ahead of the race.
Anger on the streets of Sitra rose each time patrols had passed and residents taunted security forces by shouting from inside houses, banging on trash bins and honking horns. A UN rights body this week expressed concern over the use of excessive force and tear gas by Bahraini security forces.
Anti-government hotspot
Sitra is covered in anti-government graffiti and glorifying imprisoned community leaders. One poster cited a condemnation by Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of the concept of kingship as un-Islamic.
Many streets are strewn with concrete blocks, pieces of wood and trashbins to stop police cars moving into the back alleys.
King Hamad took power in 1999 and vowed to restore parliament and introduce democratic reforms, receiving a rapturous welcome in 2001. He freed prisoners after taking office but came under pressure to introduce further reforms following last year's protests.
Now Bahrain's Formula One Grand Prix on April 20-22 has become embroiled in the troubles, as opposition groups vow to step up protests. Police pulled down posters on the walls in Sitra saying "No Formula 1 in Bahrain".
