Bahrain opposition calls rally amid deadly unrest

Manama, Feb 15 (AFP) Bahrain's opposition called a rally near Manama today, marking the second anniversary of a Shiite-led uprising against the kingdom's Sunni rulers, a day after two people died when protests turned violent. The mid-afternoon demonstration, to be held on the Boudaya highway that links a string of Shiite-populated villages with the capital, is likely to heighten tension in the kingdom which has seen two years of political upheaval linked to opposition demands for a constitutional monarchy. The wave of protests and clashes that began yesterday comes as members of the opposition engage the authorities in a new round of a national dialogue aimed at resolving the political deadlock. Yesterday, demonstrations coinciding with the actual anniversary of the start of the uprising on February 14, 2011 turned deadly when a teenager was killed by police gunfire during clashes in a village near Manama. Clashes raged sporadically in other outlying Shiite villages through the night and into the early hours, during which a policeman was killed after being struck by a petrol bomb, the Interior Ministry said. "Police officer Mohamed Atef, hit by an incendiary device which seriously injured him, died soon after he was admitted to hospital," public security chief Major-General Tariq al-Hassan said in an Interior Ministry statement. The opposition identified the teenager slain as Hussein al-Jaziri, saying he had been killed in the Shiite-populated village of Daih near the capital Manama yesterday. The official BNA news agency said two police officers are being questioned by prosecutors over the killing, which the opposition described as "cold-blooded". "The people are steadfast in getting their legitimate rights... For a democratic transition," said a statement by the opposition, which demands a full constitutional monarchy, an elected government and an end to confessional discrimination. A number of groups, including Al-Wefaq, had called for strikes and nationwide protests yesterday whcih continue till today to mark the Arab Spring-inspired uprising that was crushed about a month after it began by the security forces led by troops from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The dialogue resumed at the weekend for the first time since they broke down in mid-2011, with a second session being held on Wednesday. The opposition representative Sayed Jameel Khadim said agreement was reached in Wednesday's talks for the regime to act as "a main party in the dialogue and that its outcomes be turned into constitutional drafts". (AFP) ST NKP NKP 02151735 NNNN