Shi'ite protesters in Bahrain bury their dead on Friday after a bloody crackdown with funerals potentially serving as a rallying point to test the ruling family's resolve to crush demonstrations inspired by Egypt.

At least four protesters died in clashes on Thursday, beginning with a pre-dawn assault by riot police who drove activists off Pearl Square, a road crossing in the capital Manama. More than 230 were wounded, dozens were detained and opposition leaders said about 60 were missing.

The protesters, from the Shi'ite majority which wants more say in how the country is run, had occupied the square hoping to turn it into a base modeled on Cairo's Tahrir Square, center of the protests that toppled Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.

Funerals processions in Bahrain can involve large crowds and passionate emotions. Earlier this week, one protester was killed at the funeral of another.

Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni Muslim king and his family, but most of its people belong to the Shi'ite sect. Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said police action pulled Bahrain back from what he called the brink of a sectarian abyss.

The Gulf island country is a close U.S. ally, seen by the United States and regional power Saudi Arabia as a bulwark against Shi'ite Iran. The Middle East headquarters of the U.S. Navy is at a base near Manama.

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