BAGHDAD, March 9 (UPI) -- Supporters of influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr rallied in the Iraqi capital, saying Bahrain's king should be barred from an Arab League summit.
Baghdad hosts a summit for the Arab League later this month. Supporters of Sadr rallied in the Iraqi capital saying that members of the Sunni-led monarchy in Bahrain should be barred from the summit, Iran's state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.
Sadr's supporters chanted slogans against the Sunni kingdom in Riyadh and expressed frustration over the treatment of opposition groups inside Bahrain.
Shiite groups in the region have condemned Bahrain's response to an uprising against the Sunni-led monarchy. Sunni-led members of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council sent security teams to Bahrain last year to help the government respond to anti-government demonstrations.
Bahrain was criticized for its response to last year's uprising and an independent commission determined security forces used excessive force.
Unrest has continued in the country since the uprising in February 2011.
The official Bahrain News Agency reports "saboteurs" this week set fire to and threw stones at girls' secondary schools in the country.
