Kuwaiti protesters watch pro-opposition speakers on screens during a rally, in front of the Parliament building in Kuwait City September 24, 2012 (Photo: Reuters)
Kuwait beefed up security measures on Sunday ahead of a planned demonstration by the opposition in defiance of a government ban on unauthorised protests in the oil-rich Gulf state.
Hundreds of the elite special forces and police, backed by armoured vehicles, were deployed at two sites the opposition had set for the demonstrations and blocked roads leading to them.
The opposition meanwhile reiterated calls on its supporters to remain peaceful even if security forces attacked them.
"We will remain peaceful whatever the cost," organisers of the protest said on their Twitter account. "The peaceful march is a duty, a pledge and a commitment."
The government has vowed to use force if necessary to prevent the march, saying processions and demonstrations are illegal without a permit.
A government statement released late on Saturday said the interior ministry had not issued a permit for Sunday's demonstration, nor had it received a request from the organisers for one.
The government also urged citizens to abide by the law and security forces have been placed on high alert ahead of the march which is due to begin at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT).
The foreign ministers of Jordan and Kuwait on Sunday categorically denied reports that Jordan had dispatched thousands of riot police to the emirate to help quell the protests.
Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Humud al-Sabah told official news agency KUNA that security guards would maintain public order and curb any illegal activities.
Security forces used tear gas to break up two protests by tens of thousands of demonstrators in the past two weeks in which more than 130 protesters and 16 policemen were injured.
The opposition called the march in Kuwait City to protest against an amendment to an electoral law ordered by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah last month ahead of a snap December 1 parliamentary election.
Almost all opposition groups have said they will boycott the poll in protest at what they see as a bid to create a rubber stamp assembly.
Leading opposition figure Mussallam al-Barrak told supporters late on Saturday "to hand over to police those who resort to violence."
The opposition, made up of Islamists, nationalists and liberals, won a February general election but the constitutional court quashed the vote in June and reinstated the previous parliament.
Opposition leaders insist they have no desire to undermine the Al-Sabah ruling family and on Friday pledged their loyalty to the emir while renewing their demand for the new electoral law to be repealed.
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