Sitra, Bahrain (dpa) – A 15-year-old Bahraini youth died Saturday evening following clashes during pro-reform protests in Sitra village west of the Bahraini capital Manama. Sayed Hashem Saeed was shot at close range with a tear-gas round by riot police as they stormed the area to break-up the protests, eyewitnesses said. “He collapsed after being shot and when other protesters tried to reach him they fired at them and some were beaten,” an eyewitness who asked not to be named told dpa at the scene. Police had surrounded the alley where the protests occurred, but they did not move to treat the injured youth as he lay in a pool of his own blood gasping for air, an eyewitness said. “They hit us with batons and prevented us from reaching (him),” said one of several protesters who were injured trying to reach Saeed. After police withdrew from the neighborhood, civilians moved in to help the young man, who was lying face down in a pool of blood on the street, according to a YouTube video. The video also shows attempts by medical personnel to revive him, and shows injuries on his chest and the side of his head and neck. The family received a death certificate that only mentioned a chest injury, without reference to the shooting. The youth is expected to be buried on Sunday afternoon, and the funeral is likely to attract thousands after he was declared a martyr by the opposition. In a adjacent alley around the same time another youth was shot with bird-shot rounds fired by police, sustaining non-life threatening injuries. Protests took place across the Gulf island country on Saturday. According to the opposition more then 40 people have been killed since February 14 in pro-reform protests. In November a commission set up by Bahrain king, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, found that excessive force had been used against protesters. Earlier this month, US assistant secretary of state for democracy and human right Michael Posner expressed the same concerns including that of concerns over the use of tear-gas during a visit to Bahrain. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/a953y Tags: Death, Protest, Teenager Section: Bahrain, Latest News
