Bahrainis demand Al Khalifa step down

Pro-democracy demonstrators have taken to streets in Bahrain, demanding that the Al Khalifa regime step down.

On Friday, the protesters staged anti-regime demonstrations in the Manama suburb of Sanabis and the northeastern island of Sitra. A similar protest was also held in the village of Samaheej, located on the northern coast of Muharraq island.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested.

Physicians for Human Rights says doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they have "evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police" in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.