Troops fire on Bahraini protesters - Bahrain Protesters Say Security Forces Fire on Crowds

Bahrain’s armed forces opened fire on protesters in the capital Manama on Friday as demonstrators across the Arab world defied security forces to support the extraordinary wave of popular uprisings across the region.

The Bahraini military shot at a crowds, some of whom were holding flowers or chanting “peaceful, peaceful, peaceful”, as they tried to reoccupy a roundabout that has become a symbol of this week’s uprising in the small Arab kingdom.

In tense and chaotic scenes, ambulances arrived to pick up the wounded, several of whom were bleeding heavily.

“See what they are doing, is this democracy?” cried one demonstrator. “I have nothing, what do you expect, I only want to eat,” said another man.

The clash in Manama is the latest confrontation between angry populations and autocratic rulers across the Arab world, starting in Tunisia, but spreading to Egypt and the Gulf.

The attack came after hundreds of demonstrators walked from the village of Daih, home to Shia Muslims, who are a majority of the population but are ruled over by a Sunni monarchy.

Some protesters headed towards the Pearl roundabout, the scene earlier in the week of a bloody crackdown on dissent, and which the demonstrators want to turn into the Bahraini equivalent of Cairo’s Tahrir square, the crucible of last week’s successful Egyptian revolution.

As the protesters approached Pearl roundabout – which was secured by armoured personnel carriers and a few troops behind sandbags – one soldier moved forward and knelt down.

Without warning, a crack of gunfire sent protesters sprinting back hundreds of metres from the roundabout. Several other shots followed.

One youth picked up a rock and sprinted up the road towards the soldiers, only to be restrained by four others, one of whom repeatedly kissed the youth on his forehead.

Then as dusk came in, through a cloud of tear gas, a phalanx of riot police pushed the protesters back, who ran through nearby garden nurseries and down side-roads to escape.

The Bahraini clash came as thousands of Libyans protested against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime for a fourth day in spite of a security crackdown that has killed more than 20 people, in the worst unrest to hit the oil-rich north African state for years, activists said.

There were reportedly clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Benghazi, Libya’s second city, al-Bayda and other towns in the east, which has been a hotbed of opposition against Mr Gaddafi.

Human Rights Watch said at least 24 people were killed after security forces used live fire in a bid to disperse demonstrators on Thursday, which activists had dubbed a “day of anger”. Opposition figures and activists said the unrest was spreading to other towns and cities and put the death toll higher.

In Yemen, at least four people were reported dead as tens of thousands across the country demonstrated against corruption and the failure of democratic reform what Facebook organisers have dubbed the country’s “day of rage”.

In the capital, Sana’a, thousands called for the overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, ruler for more than 30 years. Some chanted “you’re next after Mubarak, Ali”, referring to the toppling last week of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak.