Bahrain authorities have launched an investigation into alleged police brutality after officers were secretly filmed beating up an unarmed man.
The film shows a man, believed to be an anti-governement protester, being attacked by a number of officers, who repeatedly kick and strike him whilst dragging him across an open space towards their vehicles. Another officer spits in the man's face before another kicks him into the back of a 4x4.
Masked protesters set tires on fire near a shopping centre at the edge of the western village of Malkiya
Protests continued on Monday as the demonstrations focussed on a shopping centre near the village of Makiya, where masked activists set fire to tyres. Press reports have claimed that the paramilitary National Guard has been deployed by the government in an effort to suppress the protests.
The police video was published on YouTube on Friday, but it was not until Sunday that the Ministry of Interior confirmed an investigation had begun:
In a statement to the Huffington Post UK, the Bahrain president's office said: "We want to emphasize that the actions of individual officers are not a reflection of any Government mandate and will absolutely not be tolerated. Anyone breaching the police code of conduct will be held accountable.
"The Ministry of Interior is currently enforcing major policing overhauls in regards to the use of force and implementing disciplinary measures. This is a process and we continue to insist that all security personnel act in accordance to the international conventions the Bahraini Government are part of."
However, the statement added a warning to those in the country protesting against the government, saying: "We encourage all citizens to assist security personnel in restoring law and order, instead of breaching the law and aggravating the already volatile environment created by riotous acts."
Monday's protests have been staged in solidarity with a teenager killed during demonstrations at the end of last week when security forces are reported to have attacked worshippers trying to reach Friday Prayers.
Activists claim all the roads to the Deraz mosque where leading Shia cleric, Sheikh Issa Qassim, gives his weekly sermon, were closed by police and that attempts to find alternaitve routes to the mosque were barred.
Witnesses say a 16-year-old boy, Ali Radhi, was being chased by police when he was hit and killed by a car during the disturbances. The Ministry of Interior confirmed the death, although did not say that he was being chased by police at the time. The Ministry later added that the death occurred seven miles away from the mosque and "had no connection with the security check points or police activity".
There were reports on Twitter that police attacked mourners at Ali Radhi's funeral on Sunday:
See more images of protesters in the gallery below: