MANAMA, Bahrain, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Protests in Bahrain claimed a second life Tuesday, as a man participating in a funeral procession was shot by security forces, a human-rights official said.
In Washington, U.S. President Obama Tuesday offered this maxim as popular uprisings sprout across the Middle East: "You can't maintain power through coercion."
Obama said during a news conference the United States "obviously" is "concerned about stability throughout the region."
"You can't maintain power through coercion," he said. "At some level, in any society, there has to be consent. And that's particularly true in this new era where people can communicate not just through some centralized government or a state-run TV, but they can get on a smartphone or a Twitter account and mobilize hundreds of thousands of people.
"My message I think to demonstrators going forward is your aspirations for greater opportunity, for the ability to speak your mind, for a free press, those are absolutely aspirations we support.
"As was true in Egypt, ultimately what happens in each of these countries will be determined by the citizens of those countries. And even as we uphold these universal values, we do want to make sure that transitions do not degenerate into chaos and violence. That's not just good for us; it's good for those countries."
Bahrain's Interior Ministry said on its Web site an investigation was under way to find out the reason behind the shooting of Fadhel Matrook. He was among the participants in the funeral procession in Manama of Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima, who died Monday after being shot in the back, CNN reported.
The minister said a probe would look into why a shotgun normally used for shooting birds was used.
Human-rights group Amnesty International condemned the tactics police employed in their attempt to disperse the crowds.
"The Bahrain authorities must thoroughly investigate what occurred, stand down the police involved in these shootings and make clear to the police that the use of excessive force will not be tolerated," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa.
"An independent investigation is also urgently required to establish the facts, particularly whether the level of force used by the police, both yesterday and today, can possibly be justified."
Protesters, who organized through social media such as Facebook and Twitter, along with e-mails, said they seek political reforms in Bahrain, including a constitutional monarchy.
The two days of clashes in Bahrain is an escalation of the anti-government demonstrations that began in Tunisia and spread to Algeria, Libya, Yemen and Iran, culminating in Friday's resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
A woman, who identified herself to The Wall Street Journal as Naseema from al-Daih, said fighting between opposition Shiites and Bahrain's security forces strengthened protesters' resolve.
"We're not afraid of their jails, we're not afraid of death, we're willing to give our own blood and our own sons," the woman said.
In Yemen, a number of protesters were hurt as they clashed with riot police and government backers Tuesday as the demonstrators marched toward the presidential palace in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Witnesses said about 500 police officers and government supporters armed with batons and knives drove back about 1,000 anti-government demonstrators.
"People want the regime to fall. People want President (Ali Abdullah) Saleh and his family to leave," one protester said.
In Yemen's port city of Aden, police fired bullets into the air to disperse demonstrators, a law enforcement official said.
