REPORT: Bahrain police disperse demonstrators with tear gas - witness

      
Bahraini police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Shi'ite Muslim anti-government protesters on Wednesday, but there were no reports of casualties.        

A Reuters correspondent saw police dispersing the demonstrators, who had approached a barbed wire fence erected the night before on the outskirts of the village of Shakhoora, west of the capital Manama, following calls by activists for mass anti-government protests.

Earlier in the day, Bahrain has tightened security around restive Shi'ite Muslim villages in an effort to block anti-government protests planned by activists pressing the Sunni Muslim ruling family to allow democracy.
   
In statements disseminated on social media, the activists say they were inspired by mass protests in Egypt last month that prompted the army to oust Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
   
But unlike in Egypt, where protesters were backed by the military, Bahrain's security forces remain loyal to a government that on Monday vowed to "forcefully confront" demonstrators and prosecute those responsible for "incitement".
   
The small Gulf Arab state and Western ally that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet has been buffeted by bouts of unrest since February 2011 when an uprising led by members of the Shi'ite majority demanded the al-Khalifa dynasty give up power.
   
The authorities crushed the revolt but protests and clashes have persisted despite continuing talks between government and opposition, leaving Bahrain on the front line of a tussle for regional influence between Shi'ite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia.
   

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REUTERS