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The main Shi'ite opposition bloc has rejected an offer by the ruling royal family to start a national dialogue.

The King has been urged to show restraint by President Obama - who rang him after police in the capital Manama opened fire on demonstrators, injuring more than fifty people.

91�ȱ� News website readers in Bahrain spoke to the 91�ȱ� about how the recent protests have been affecting their areas

Anon, Manama

I went to a funeral and afterwards I joined a peaceful rally. When we reached Pearl/Lulu roundabout, there were snipers firing at us.

We were attacked by Bahraini special forces with real bullets. I saw one man shot in the head and another in the chest.

I'm at the hospital now and there are angry people, wondering why peaceful people were attacked.

There are people missing from my area and so I'm at the hospital to find out what might have happened to them.

No-one is informing people - I don't know if people have been killed or arrested - more than 60 people are missing.

The government is saying that protesters were using swords and knives, but that is not true.

There has been a call from the young people to go on a rally later.

Last night the King called for negotiations but people refused while there is shooting.

The demands are simple: drop this government and bring in a new constitution that will guarantee our rights. I would like Bahrain to be like the UK i.e. a constitution with a monarch and the right for people to vote for a government.

Anmar, Sitra

Thousands of people are gathering here for three funerals.

There is no police presence. Some people are considering going to a place near Manama after the funeral.

From there, they will try to reach the capital - but I don't think they will be able to get there as there is heavy army and police presence.

But they might try to get as close as they can.

Said, Karzakan

I am in Karzakan village at the funeral of one of the protesters - a 52-year-old man.

I heard one Shia opposition MP give a speech where he talked about what happened yesterday. He said we must send the message that we will continue with our peaceful demonstration and demands. He also said that he is expecting more conflict.

The regime is preparing for religious conflict between Shias and Sunnis. But we, the protesters, don't believe that there needs to be conflict between Sunnis and Shias.

I have been at the protests since 14 February - I was at Pearl roundabout the evening before the violence and I spent yesterday at the hospital, where there were more protests.

Anthony, Juffair

I live near the Grand Mosque in Juffair, and Bahrain TV (BTV) is setting up its cameras ahead of the pro-government rally due to start after morning prayers.

I've just been past and the cars are building up. They are parking people inside the mosque and the wasteland opposite.

Cars are decked with Bahraini flags. BTV have cameras set up inside the mosque car park and along the route the rally will take.

We've had all the negatives coming out of here and now the regime wants to promote the positive.

The sound of helicopters overhead continue to be heard. We have heard them all night.

I'm disturbed by the reports of maltreatment of people - the only way to promote democracy is with dialogue. Things need to be normalised as soon as possible - Bahrain is usually such a peaceful country.

Anon, Hamad Town

The media doesn't look at all aspects of this story. There may be 10,000 anti-government protesters, but there were 30,000 protesters taking part in unity or pro-government demonstrations.

When the protesters started, I think they did have genuine demands, but they just want everything to change overnight - that can't happen.

I did walk past one of the protests where the people were saying that the royal family should be deposed or pinpointing individuals - it was aggressive.

Everyone lives together and works together in Bahrain - there is no conflict between Sunni and Shia. It's just the same as living in any society where there are different cultures.

Of course there are issues that need to be addressed, but there are appropriate channels for doing so. All in all I think the government has done a good job of reform in the last 10 years.