Masked soldiers still guard the entrances to the Pearl roundabout, focal point of protests.

Diggers and trucks removed the last remnants of the Pearl monument there, which authorities have demolished after it became a symbol of the unrest.

The government plans to set up traffic lights in place of the roundabout, where only days ago protesters were handing out food and holding political rallies late into the night.

Bahraini police and troops moved on Wednesday to end weeks of protests that king to declare martial law and led to troops being sent in from Bahrain's fellow neighbours.

In other parts of the capital, life was returning to normal.

Shops and malls were open.

Only the remnants of makeshift road blocks, set up by vigilantes after sectarian clashes broke out a week ago, remind Bahrainis of the tough weeks that have passed.