Manama, Apr 18 (AP) More than a hundred civil servants in Bahrain were summarily fired for participating in anti-government protests, the state news agency said today, in the latest crackdown on the opposition.

The Bahrain News Agency said that 111 employees of the Education Ministry had been punished for participating in the street marches and strikes last month, demanding greater political freedoms and equal rights for the Shiite majority in the tiny, but strategically important Gulf island nation.

The employees will also be prosecuted for "flagrant violations" of the country's civil service law, the state-run news agency said, adding that last month's Teachers' Union strike was politically motivated and aimed at "crippling schools."

Bahrain imposed martial law March 15 to crush the Shiite-led uprising. Hundreds of protesters, political leaders, human rights activists and Shiite professionals like doctors and lawyers, have been detained.