MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Protesters in Bahrain have marched through a Shiite village chanting anti-government slogans despite a ban on public gatherings in the Gulf kingdom, which is now under emergency rule.
About a thousand Shiite protesters defied martial-type laws and staged protest against the Sunni rulers’ monopoly on power in the Gulf country, the home of U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
The demonstration took place on Thursday in the village of Karzakan, 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of the capital Manama. Whole families attended. Men and women chanted slogans against the royal family and marched along, some carrying balloons.
At least 20 people have been killed as Bahrain’s Sunni rulers, backed by a Saudi-led military force attempt to crush a monthlong uprising by the Shiite majority.
