Armoured vehicles sealing off Pearl Square, the focal point of protests in Bahrain's capital, have withdrawn on the orders of the royal family.

Police have returned to fire tear gas at protesters trying to enter the area.

Earlier, the main Shia opposition bloc, Wefaq, rejected an offer from the king to hold talks aimed at ending days of unrest in the Sunni-ruled Gulf state.

The army's withdrawal and the resignation of the government were a condition for talks, the bloc said.

But a Wefaq MP has now told the BBC that the army's withdrawal was positive, and that the government's resignation was not a pre-condition for talks.