Calm prevails in Maan after rioters clash with police

Jordan Times Nov. 16, 2009

A burned police booth is seen in Maan city, 220 kilometres south of Amman on Sunday. Violent riots erupted shortly after the death of Fakhri Kreishan late Saturday, two days after slipping into a coma allegedly caused by a severe beating to the head by a police officer (AP photo by Zahran Zahran

By Hani Hazaimeh

AMMAN - Police on Sunday said that the situation in the city of Maan was back to normal after intense riots broke out Saturday in response to the death of a citizen allegedly at the hands of police.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Major Mohammad Khatib told The Jordan Times yesterday that there was no escalation in the southern town and things were back to normal, with no confrontations taking place between police and citizens.

Eyewitnesses told The Jordan Times that the security presence in the city was barely noticeable, adding that the police removed a security booth that was burnt by a group of young rioters during Saturday evening's violence.

The eyewitness added that traffic on the Desert Highway to Aqaba, which passes through Maan was blocked by the rioters the night before, was proceeding as usual.

Late Saturday, a number of young people in the southern city attacked and burned a police vehicle and a security booth after opening fire on the policemen manning the station.

The attacks were triggered by the death of a man who had been in a coma since Thursday after allegedly being attacked by a police officer during a clash between police and residents who tried to prevent the arrest of a suspect.

Riots were witnessed in other parts of the city on Saturday as some residents protesting the death of Fakhri Anani Kreishan, 44, who died at Al Hussein Medical Centre in Amman, blocked the Desert Highway leading to Aqaba, the residents said. Gunshots were heard in various parts of the city despite earlier attempts by tribal and local community leaders to calm the angry youths who had started to gather in the town squares. Kreishan was buried yesterday with no reports of unrest during the funeral.

Maan has a history of clashes with authorities, starting in 1989, when violent protests broke out after a national economic crisis caused a rise in commodity and fuel prices.

Last week, six Gendarmerie members were hospitalised in a riot that followed the death of a resident in Hai Al Tafaileh in east Amman. In a similar episode, the deceased was allegedly beaten by police before he went into a coma and died.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Sunday, Minister of Interior Nayef Qadi said that incidents such as these are isolated cases and do not reflect on the Kingdom's stability or security.

Without mentioning the incidents in Maan or Hai Al Tafaileh specifically, the minister stressed that police are required to treat citizens in a civilised manner and not to resort to unnecessary or excessive force, adding that public security personnel who violate these regulations are held accountable for their actions.

16 November 2009