* 1,500-strong security force maintains strict curfew in capital Manama
* Five people killed in violent clashes with pro-democracy protesters
* Outlying towns braced for more violence over the weekend
This is the moment Bahrain officials tore down an iconic statue that has been a focal point for weeks of pro-democracy protests.
Drills and diggers were used to cut away at the six bases of the statue in Pearl Square, Manama, before it collapsed to the ground in a mound of rubble and steel bars.
The tiny Gulf kingdom government had trucks on standby to take away the debris as it removed all traces of what had become a symbol of the protest movement.
Clashes: Protesters gather in Pearl Square before marching through the city
It comes after Bahrain forces backed by Saudi allies expanded a crackdown on the month-long protests over rights and the Sunni monarchy.
Bahrain's royal family has gambled that it can survive sectarian fault lines that divide the kingdom with the help of a 1,500-strong force led by the Saudis.
But residents of Sitra and other Shiite villages outside the capital are bracing for more violence.
A curfew has been installed in the capital to prevent protests taking place, but opposition leaders sent text messages to supporters asking them to shout from the rooftops every night 'to tell the army your tanks cannot silence us'.
The U.S. has made Bahrain home to the Navy's 5th Fleet, counting on the Sunni rulers who endured Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and unrest among the Shiite majority.
But the ruling system - which just two weeks ago appealed for negotiations with Shiites - now appears to be trying to crush the opposition, imposing a three-month emergency rule that gives the military wide powers to tackle the pro-democracy uprising inspired by revolts across the Arab world.
Shiites account for 70 per cent of the total population of 500,000, but are widely excluded from high-level posts.
Riot police fired tear gas at protesters trying to stage a march in the Shiite suburb of Jidhafs, just half a mile from Pearl Square.
Residents tried to block police vehicles with makeshift barriers including metal tables, gym weights and bits of wood.
Security forces overwhelmed parts of Manama and nearly all banks and shops were closed. The curfew extends from 8pm to 4am.
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights said those detained included Hassan Mushaima and Abdul Jalil al-Sangaece - who were among 25 Shiite activists facing charges of trying to overthrow the monarchy.
The case was dropped to calm tensions, but further arrests suggest authorities have abandoned efforts at dialogue.
The British Foreign Office was left embarrassed after it laid on two flights to Dubai from the Gulf state, but Britons refused to pay the £260 cost for a seat.
More flights are due to arrive in the country over the weekend.
Lockdown: Troops, including soldiers sent by Saudi Arabia, guard the entrance to Pearl Square today. A curfew has been in effect in Manama since Tuesday
Burnt out: A hall inside the National Democratic Action Society building in Manama which has been torched twice during the unrest
Security: At least five people have been killed in violent clashes between government troops and protesters since the uprising began a month ago
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