Teenage protester killed by police car in Bahrain

Boy, 16, was killed by a police car when security forces were dispersing Shiite demonstrators.

MANAMA // Hundreds of mourners gathered yesterday for the funeral of a teenage protester who was killed by a police vehicle when security forces were dispersing Shiite demonstrators.

The violence occurred just days before an international panel was due to release a report on Bahrain's protests, in which more than 30 people have been killed since they began in February.

Security forces have clashed with protesters almost daily since authorities launched a crackdown in March.

The 16-year-old boy buried yesterday, Ali Youssef Bagdar, died after a police vehicle ran him over during a rally earlier in the day in Juffair, Manama.

His uncle, Ibrahim Ali Bagdar, said he rushed to the area with the boy's father but police cordoned the site off and would not let anyone approach.

"Our boy was dead and they left him laying on the street for hours," Mr Bagdar said before the funeral in Sitra.

A report by the state-run Bahrain News Agency said a police vehicle skidded into a group of "rioters ... committing acts of sabotage" due to an oil spill on the road, killing the boy. The BNA said authorities were investigating the incident, which occurred just before 1am.

A report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, which has been probing alleged abuses, is due on Wednesday. The five-member panel was set up in July with the consent of Bahrain's rulers.