Bahrain Opposition: Police Fire at Al-Wefaq HQ, Many Hurt

Bahraini riot police on Friday fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators gathered in the headquarters of the main Shiite opposition group, Al-Wefaq, the group said, adding that some were wounded.

"Security forces fired directly at the premises of the group ... where several leaders and members had gathered," said Al-Wefaq, which has its main office in the outskirts of Manama.

Police deployed in force to the surrounding areas to prevent a pro-democracy rally called by opposition groups and fired "tear gas and rubber bullets ... (leaving) several people wounded, including children," the statement read.

Several people present at Wefaq's headquarters, including the group's deputy secretary general Sheikh Hassan al-Dihi and an American journalist, suffered from tear gas inhalation, it added.

"We are a people that does not bend. This savage repression only strengthens our determination to continue to fight for the defense of our national rights," the text quoted Sheikh Dihi as saying.

Bahrain was rocked from mid-February to mid-March by a Shiite-led protest movement, which was violently repressed by the ruling Sunni monarchy.

On November 23, an independent investigative committee denounced the use of "excessive force" by the authorities, which cost the lives of 35 people, 30 civilians and five police.

The authorities accepted the probe's findings and the United States, a close ally of Bahrain, called on them to punish those responsible.