A man was killed when security forces in Bahrain opened fire with tear gas and bird shot on thousands of mourners gathered for a funeral procession, hospital officials said.
Officials at Bahrain’s Salmaniya Medical Complex – the meeting point for the mourners – said the 31-year-old died from injuries from bird shot fired during the melee in the hospital’s car park.
The mourners had gathered at the hospital for a funeral procession for a man killed a day earlier in Egypt-inspired protests.
The death raises the possibility of more marches and challenges to the ruling monarchy in Bahrain – a strategic Western ally and home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
After the clash, riot police eventually withdrew and allowed the funeral cortege for 21-year-old Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima to proceed from the hospital, the main state-run medical facility in Bahrain’s capital, Manama.
Mr Mushaima was killed on Monday during clashes with security forces trying to halt marches to demand greater freedom and political rights. At least 25 people were injured in the barrage of rubber bullets, bird shot and tear gas, family members said.
A statement from Bahrain’s interior minister, Lieutenant General Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, expressed “sincere condolences and deep sympathy” to Mr Mushaima’s family.
He stressed that the death would be investigated and charges filed if authorities determined excessive force was used against the protesters. But that is unlikely to appease the protesters, whose “day of rage” coincided with major anti-government demonstrations in Iran and Yemen.
In the past week, Bahrain’s rulers have attempted to undermine calls for reform by promising nearly 2,700 US dollars (£1,685) for each family and pledging to loosen state controls on the media.
A main Shiite opposition group, Al Wefaq, denounced the “bullying tactics and barbaric policies pursued by the security forces” against peaceful marchers staging the first major rallies in the Gulf since uprisings toppled long-ruling regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.
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