The protests took place in Qatif city, where some minority Shi`ite Muslims complained of Sunni rulers` discrimination, a claim denied by the government.
While activists claimed their demonstration was "peaceful," local media reported that some protestors set tires ablaze, throw Molotov cocktails and then clashed with the police.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said the police had detained a number of "instigators of riots," without specifying the exact number.
Mohammed al-Shakhouri, a wanted fugitive, was among 23 most wanted men in Qatif, the spokesman was quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency as saying.
Local media reported that several protestors were wounded in the clashes, which started late Thursday night.
The Shiite minority in Saudi`s restive eastern region have been clashing with police over the past year, due to their dissatisfaction with the Sunni rulers. The Saudi government, viewing the tensions in the context of regional power struggle, accuses Iran of stirring up the unrest in the kingdom.
Xinhua
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
