Protesters clash with Bahrain police after arrests

MANAMA, Feb 2 (Reuters) Bahrain's riot police clashed with some 200 Shi'ite protesters in Manama today after the arrest of a Shi'ite opposition figure and a human rights activist.

The police used tear gas and clubs to disperse the crowd. Some protesters said policemen also fired rubber bullets wounding about 10 people. The use of rubber bullets could not be confirmed by independent sources.

The protest broke out after the arrest of the head of the Haaq Movement for Liberty and Democractic Bahrain Hassan Mushaima and the President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja, a spokesman of Haq movement said.

Officials were not immediately available for comment on the arrests.

''With the arrest of these people they are bringing the fire to their own houses ... they will pay for it,'' said Jaafari, one of the protesters.

Bahrain witnessed political unrest in the 1980s and 1990s, mostly by Shi'ites demanding more rights from the kingdom's Sunni rulers.

In 1999, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa introduced some political reforms, including pardoning political prisoners.

Late last year, the Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Bahrain's biggest Shi'ite group, contested parliamentary polls for the first time, winning 17 of parliament's 40 seats.

Reuters PDM DB2147