DUBAI: Saudi security forces shot dead a protester during a clash Friday with demonstrators in the oil-producing Eastern Province, home to a large Shiite minority, the state news agency said. The Saudi Press Agency said a protester was killed and three others were wounded in a similar clash Thursday.

“While security men were following up on an illegal gathering in the town of Awwamiya in Qatif Friday they were attacked by gunfire,” a police statement on the state news agency said Friday.

Activists said a 21-year-old man had been killed Thursday when police fired to disperse demonstrators in the town. Saudi opposition websites said between six and 14 people were wounded.

An SPA statement said a clash had taken place Thursday in which one protester was killed and three were injured, confirming what a police spokesman had said earlier.

The Eastern Province has seen sporadic demonstrations since March last year, and in November four people were killed, according to the Interior Ministry and activists.

Saudi Arabia is sensitive to any unrest in the Eastern Province because of what it says are concerns it could be fomented by Iran to destabilize the Gulf region.