Police and mourners clash at Bahrain protester's funeral

Thousands of Shiite protesters marched into the capital of Bahrain yesterday after a man was killed in clashes between police and mourners at a funeral for a demonstrator shot dead at an earlier anti-government rally.

The death, which came a day after a "Day of Rage" of protests on Monday in Manama, raised the prospect of further clashes between Bahrain's majority Shiite Muslims and the Sunni security forces backed by the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty.

Bahrain's main Shiite opposition bloc, Wefaq, which accuses the rulers of discrimination against Shiites, responded to the violence by boycotting parliament. Enraged mourners chanted anti-government slogans.

Protesters said their main demand was the resignation of the prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has governed Bahrain gained independence in 1971.