Thousands of Bahrainis took to the streets on Friday (December 18, 2015) calling for a Democratic regime which would put an end to the ruling Al Khalifa family's monopoly over power.

The protesters condemned the continued detention of opposition leader and Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Sheikh Ali Salman, who was arrested at the end of 2014 after the society renamed him as Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq.

In the Bahraini village of Al-Diraz, west of the Bahraini capital Manama, protesters held photos of Sheikh Ali Salman and the late opposition leader Sheikh Abdulamir Al-Jamri who led the uprising that erupted in the 1990s to demand the return of parliamentary life.

Pro-democracy protesters also condemned the Nigerian military's attack launched on the Shiite religious leader Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky and Shiite religious center, which left dozens of innocent people killed, calling for international action to reveal Al-Zakzaky's fate and condemn the crime.

Meanwhile, various areas across Bahrain witnessed demonstrations commemorating the ninth demise of Sheikh Abdulamir Al-Jamri. In response, Bahraini security forces cracked down on protestors using force in a number of villages across the country.