Sunni vigilantes back up riot squad in Bahrain

Security forces reinforced by pro-government mobs fired rubber bullets and tear gas yesterday to scatter protesters near Bahrain's royal palace, as a conflict deepened between Sunni Muslims backing the ruling system and Shiites demanding it give up its monopoly on power.

The clashes broke out after a long standoff between tens of thousands of demonstrators facing down lines of riot police and Sunni vigilantes carrying swords, clubs, metals pipes and stones.

One protester, Habib Ibreeq, said people used private cars to ferry the injured to hospitals.

The latest clash reinforces the sense that nearly a month of protests led by the Shiite majority to demand sweeping political reforms - including an end to the Sunni monarchy - was veering toward sectarian street battles.

The full number of injured was not immediately clear, but witnesses said it included many people hit by stones or cut by blades.