Despite Bahrain recognising the Libyan Transitional Council, it seems that the government is slower to cope with protesters demanding more reforms as sources say clashes between demonstrators and security forces are occurring regularly.

The latest protests have been fuelled by the death of a teenage boy who was allegedly hit by a tear-gas canister fired by Bahraini security forces trying to disperse a protest, activists say.

Ali Jawad Ahmed, 14, was reportedly among a small crowd who had gathered overnight in the village of Sitra, according to the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, which insist security forces personnel used "excessive force".

Large crowds marched through the village on Thursday for the funeral of the teenage boy. The emotional gathering saw many holding pictures of the boy, some taken after his death and showing blood coming out of his mouth, while others were seen waving the national flag as they followed the body to its burial site.

Protests also hit the capital city Wednesday and early Thursday, with clashes between the demonstrators and the Bahrain forces being reported.

As protesters tried to retake a central square that had previously been the centre of protests they were stopped by the security forces, who fired tear gas and blocked roads with buses, according to news reports.

The death of Ali Jawad Ahmed, is still surrounded by controversy after various contradicting accounts surfaced, which is set to only further the protester's anger.

While the authorities said an initial investigation suggests the security forces were not involved in the death, Isa Hassan, the teenager's uncle, insisted that police officers had overreacted when confronted by a small group of protesters in Sitra, following the Shia Eid celebrations prayers, telling the Associated Press "They are supposed to lob the canisters of gas, not shoot them at people," "Police used it as a weapon."

On the other hand, the Bahraini under-secretary for human rights, Saeed Mohamed al-Fayhani, told the BBC that the boy's death was "not related to any contact between the police and demonstrators".

"The report that I saw is that he was hit from behind on his neck and that was the reason for his death," Fayhani was quoted as saying.

In an attempt to further reject security forces implications, a state-run news agency published a report Wednesday which said that while the government confirmed the death of the teenage boy, it insisted said there had been "no reported police action against lawbreakers in Sitra" that morning, "except dispersing a small group of around 10 people at 1:15 a.m," clashes that were also reported by The Associated Press.

Meanwhile the Ministry of the Interior reportedly also offered a reward of more than $26,000 for information about those responsible for his death.

Bahrain's head of public prosecution, Osama al-Asfoor, had also released a statement saying that an autopsy showed that Ali had died of injuries to the back of his neck. The statement also said that the boy had injuries under his chin and bruises on his face, hand, knees and pelvic area, but insisted a blood examination had shown no effects of tear gas exposure.

While the government's rapid response showed it is conscious of the ramifications the death of the teenager could have on the relationship between the state's forces and the protesters, activists say the death only highlights the government's attempts to defend its security forces actions.

Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said in a message that a video showing the boy's body was "a gift to the people" from the government.

Titled "Ban Ki-moon, do you see?" the video, posted on YouTube, issues an appeal to the United Nations secretary general.

Activists are outraged at the lack of international support for their movement and affirm that the international community is participating in the cover up of the brutal crackdown on protesters because the Bahraini government is a strategic ally of the United States and of Saudi Arabia.

The Arab Spring might have started as a glimpse of hope for the Arab world, with expectations for more freedom, more democracy, more political space for the opposition and less corruption and nepotism, but as the example of Syria has proven, geopolitics often prevail on the protesters demands.

Human rights United Nations