DHAKA: Bahraini police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Shia protesters who took to the streets Saturday on the fourth anniversary of an uprising that deeply divided the key US ally.

Police deployed heavily as men and women carrying Bahrain’s red and white flag alongside portraits of detained activists chanted ‘Down Hamad’, in reference to the Sunni king, witnesses said, reports The Straits Times.

They fired tear gas and sound bombs and beefed up security around several villages and along major roads across the country, the witnesses said, without reporting any casualties.

The security measures were aimed at preventing the demonstrators from advancing towards the centre of the capital Manama, where the 2011 uprising was focused.

BDST: 2140 HRS, FEB 14, 2015