Bahrain protestors urge US support

Hundreds of Shiite opposition supporters are holding a demonstration outside the US embassy in Bahrain’s capital, Manama.

The protesters say Washington is showing less support for the campaign for change in Bahrain than it did for the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

The demonstrators are seeking to loosen the grip on power held by Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy.

Bahrain holds particular importance to Washington as the host of the Navy’s 5th Fleet, the main American military counterweight to Iran’s expanding influence in the region.

Washington has praised the king’s efforts to defuse tensions, but also urged the rulers to answer the aspirations of the Bahraini people.