MANAMA: The leader of Bahrain's biggest Shia bloc says the party will join reconciliation talks with Sunni rulers despite a harsh crackdown on pro-reform protests in the Gulf kingdom.

Sheik Ali Salman says delegates from his group, Al Wefaq, will join the talks but stick to demands to loosen the monarch's grip on power and give more rights for Bahrain's Shia majority.

Salman spoke to supporters during a rally Friday in an opposition stronghold northwest of the capital, Manama.Wefaq was the leading backer of the Shia-led protests that began in February. The US-supported talks begin Saturday. Bahrain is home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet.