Thousands of Bahraini Shias have defied martial law and renewed their pro-democracy protests.

They gathered after prayers to also bury a victim of the bloody crackdown by security forces.

More than 5,000 chanted slogans for a 'free Bahrain' and denounced a Saudi-led military force sent to help put down the unrest, during a funeral in the town of Sitra, which was the scene of violent clashes on Tuesday.

'Death to Al-Saud' and 'occupier out' they shouted, as a helicopter circled overhead.

Mourners said Ahmed Farhan, 28, died instantly when he was shot in the head from a helicopter on Tuesday, shortly after the government declared martial law in a bid to put down a month of Shia-led unrest.

One of Farhan's cousins said his funeral would go ahead despite a ban on all public gatherings and the authorities' initial reluctance to release his body from Manama's main hospital, which has been taken over by police.

'We're not scared - every drop of blood that is shed emboldens us. If we were scared we wouldn't have left our houses,' she said.

In the nearby Shia town of Diraz, just outside of Manama, thousands poured out of mosques after Friday prayers and promised to 'sacrifice blood for Bahrain.'

They also called for restraint and non-violence in the face of alleged crimes by the Sunni-ruled kingdom's police and military.

Sheikh Issa Qassem, Bahrain's senior Shia cleric, said in a sermon that people demanding rights and reform 'do not believe in violence that authorities are trying to push them to.'

'The peaceful approach has been our choice since day one,' he said.

Buses packed with security personnel arrived at the scene but there were no reports of violence.

The protests are the first since security forces fired tear gas and shots at a month-old pro-democracy sit-in at Manama's Pearl Square on Wednesday, killing three.

The government today destroyed the pearl-topped monument at the centre of the emblematic square.

A statement said destruction of the monument was part of a 'facelift' of the area designed to improve traffic flow.

Bahraini police have been reinforced with more than 1,000 armoured troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, but the foreign forces have kept a low profile.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon called King Hamad last night to warn the crackdown might be breaking international law, after the world body's human rights chief cited 'credible' reports of 'shocking and illegal' abuses.

The abuses allegedly include killings, withholding treatment from the wounded and attacks on doctors as they try to help injured protesters. The government denies the claims.

The violence in the strategic kingdom has alarmed Washington and sparked furious condemnation from Shia power Iran, Shia leaders in Iraq and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

