TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Large groups of Bahraini worshippers took to the streets in Diraz on Friday after the ruling Al Khalifa regime did not allow them to observe Friday prayers for fourth consecutive week.

Shiite Muslims in Bahrain amassed near the Imam Sadiq Mosque in the northwestern village of Diraz, situated about 12 kilometers (seven miles) west of the capital Manama, to express their resentment over the suspension of the religious ritual by Al Khalifa.

Carrying photos of Bahrain's top cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim, the worshippers chanted different slogans and condemned the Manama regime’s efforts to restrict Shiite Muslims’ freedom of religion and belief.

They also called on the international community not to remain silent and take action in the face of the Bahraini regime’s suppression of dissident.

On June 20, Bahraini authorities stripped distinguished Sheikh Isa Qassim of his citizenship less than a week after suspending the country’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, and dissolving the Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by Sheikh Qassim, and opposition al-Risala Islamic Association.

Since February 14, 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis, calling on the Al Khalifah family to relinquish power.

In March that year, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — themselves repressive Arab regimes — were deployed to the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protests.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in Manama's crackdown on the anti-regime activists.

By Tasnim News Agency