Mourners in Bahrain campaign for change

Calls for constitutional change have intensified in Bahrain following the country's 'Day Of Rage'.

Mourners at the funeral of the second man killed in recent clashes with police chanted their dissatisfaction at the ruling monarchy, and continued their cries for a new government.

One member of the thousand strong funeral procession for Fadel Matrouk said: "People just feel the momentum, that they can do something. On the 14th, they wanted to fix the regime. Now they want it down. They don't want the ruling family in power anymore."

Matrouk was one of two men killed following protests that have broken out across the capital Manama. The police have been criticised for the deaths and the Interior Ministry has promised to take action should it find the level of force used was unjustifiable.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has ruled Bahrain for over 40 years since gaining independence from Britain; his uncle is the Prime Minister.

To many the Royal family represent an oppressive and discriminatory regime that stifles the prosperity of the middle class. The majority of Bahranians are of Shi'ite origin whilst the monarchy are of Sunni origin.

People attending the funeral however made it clear that this distinction was not the driving force behind their anger. Shouts of "the people want the fall of the regime" and "there are no Sunnis or Shi'ites, just Bahraini unity" could be heard amongst religious songs.

Bahrain is one of several countries in the Middle East feeling the force of popular uprising following the recent protests in Egypt and Tunisia. Men and women, young and old, from all walks of life have been camping out in the centre of Manama hoping that they too can achieve meaningful constitutional change.

Speaking at the funeral, 31-year-old medical student Nawaf al-Said expressed his belief that although the determination is strong, the momentum is positive: "I am shocked we have finally woken up, it will continue peacefully."