Witnesses: Bahrain police fire tear gas at funeral – Bahrain Freedom Movement

21/01/2012 – 7:39 p | Hits: 191

MANAMA: Bahraini security forces have fired tear to disperse mourners at the funeral of a man whose death brought conflicting accounts between authorities and the kingdom’s main opposition group.

Witnesses say clashes began after some people began chanting anti-government slogans in a cemetery. Bahrain has been hit by near daily unrest since February 2011 when majority Shiites began protests for greater rights from the Sunni monarchy.

The funeral Saturday came a week after conflicting reports over the death of the 24-year-old.

Officials say the man drowned, but the Shiite opposition group Al Wefaq says his family claimed he was in police custody. Wefaq asked for an independent investigation.

More than 35 people have died in Bahrain’s unrest.