Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The streets of the Bahraini capital, Manama, on Saturday were also occupied by massive protests, which flooded other areas acros the country, marking the fourth anniversary of the February 14 revolution.

Frustrated demonstrators marched through the streets of the commercial area "old market" in the capital's center as shops and businesses closed their doors for a third consecutive day, answering revolutionary groups calls to strike.

Barriers and Barricades behind which protestors were taking cover were seen on the streets of Manama from a distance of dozens of meters from the "Al-Qalaa" building, where Bahraini security forces and interior ministry offices are located.

Protestors started a fire outside the British embassy in the diplomatic area, apparently sending a message to the British ambassador Ian Lindsay who the opposition accuses of conspiring with the Manama government.

Demonstrators from Al-Sanabes and Al-Berhama attempted to reach the Pearl Roundabout which is the center of the protest movement that was launched on February 14, 2011, before being stopped by national security forces responsible for securing the area.

A number of pictures showed how some protestors managed to reach the barbed wire, only a few meters far from the roundabout before they were dispersed by a hail of bullets.

A wave of massive protests was witnessed in dozens of areas considered as opposition strongholds, where protestors staged demonstrations since the early hours of the morning and blocked roads with containers and burning tires. What was also noteworthy was the widespread use of "teddy bears" as a symbol of protests.

The ministry of interior, which announced three days ago that its forces were on full alert, used two helicopters, one of which was for Bahrain's defense force, in order to secure the southern region which comprises of Sitra, Al-Maameer, Al-Akr, Al-Nouwaidrat that witnessed the most violent clashes.

Activists posted a video on social media outlets, showing a massive convoy led by security vehicles on the entrances of the island of Sitra during noon. It was later reported that the convoy included theChief of Public Security Trariq Al-Hassan.

As seen in the video, the convoy was made up of nine civilian vehicles (six black-colored US-manufactured Tahoo cars and two golden-colored and one white-colored Land Cruisers), and five Toyota Land Cruiser military vehicles (police patrol).

It was noticeable that the convoy was moving slowly due to the large amount of debris spread across the street, which was a result of clashes between security forces and protestors that took place today.

Security forces also blocked "Abdulkarim Roundabout" with a huge number of armored vehicles on Al-Badeea street, which is one of the main passageways that leads to the area located west of Manama.

Live rounds of bullets were heard in the Diah area west of Manama. Activists posted a video showing protestors fleeing after hearing heavy gunshots; however, it is not clear whether there were injuries or not.

Many videos of today's events also emerged showing attempts to run over protestors by police vehicles.

One of the videos showed a military vehicle running over a demonstrator who, among others, was peacefully protesting in the Al-Diraz area.

The video shows a young man, wearing black, under a military vehicle which ran over his leg near "Ansar Al-Adala". He tried to stand up but he couldn't. His medical condition is yet unknown. Similar cases were also reported in Bilad Al-Qadeem, Al-Sahla and Sadad areas as well.
An Asian resident in Bani Jamra area west of Manama sustained injuries from shotgun pellets fired by police in an attempt to disperse protestors. Another injury was reported in Al-Maameer area south of Manama as well.

About five demonstrators were arrested after security forces launched raids in the Bilad Al-Qadim area. Another four were also taken into custody in Al-Naeem area in Manama.

The Bahrain Human Rights Society stated that it was able to confirm at least seven arrests. It also added in the report, in which it said that it observed violations on February 14, 2015 during the morning time, that 21 areas witnessed crackdowns. It also indicated that 23 protests were staged and five buildings were raided by security forces, and one of the buildings was a funeral home. The report also stated that a number of people were injured in Sar, Moqaba, Bani Jamra, Abi Sibae and Al-Shakhoura.

For its part, Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said that a funeral home was set ablaze in the Athari area due to what it described as "the barbaric shooting by security forces in the area". Reports say that the funeral home was burned to the ground. "Al-Wefaq" expressed its great concern, stating that the "current escalation is dangerous and worsens the crisis between the regime and the people".

In a statement released today, it called on "all international parties to end their silence and speak out about the grave violations that the regime is committing in Bahrain". The Interior ministry; however, said that "civil defense teams managed to contain the fire in Abu Biham area", pointing out that "competent parties are at the scene figuring out the cause of the fire".

• النسخة العربية