RIYADH, Oct 14: Hundreds of people demonstrated in Riyadh on Tuesday to denounce arrests of dissidents following a call from an exiled opposition group, in a rare protest in the kingdom.

Baton-wielding anti-riot police intervened to disperse the protesters who gathered outside the Kingdom Tower on the main Al Ulaya thoroughfare after the London-based Movement for Islamic Reform called for the rally against the detention of government opponents, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.

Witnesses said police arrested a number of protesters, mostly youngsters who chanted “Allah-o-Akbar”.

Dozens of people, including women, attempted to gather near the area of the main rally after they were dispersed by police, only to scatter again when security forces came, the correspondent said.

The scene was repeated several times and the protesters were still in the streets at 6:30 pm (1530 GMT), around three hours after the demonstration began.—AFP