Dozens arrested in Jordan after deadly fuel protests

King Abdullah II and state officials warned of firm response after policeman was killed

Tyres burn by the side of a road in the southern Jordanian city of Maan after violent protests over rising fuel prices. AFP

Jordan's security forces have arrested dozens of people following violent protests against rising fuel prices in which a senior police officer was shot dead, the Public Security Directorate said on Saturday.

Col Abdul Razzaq Al Dalabeh, the deputy police chief of Maan province, died of a gunshot to the head during protests in the town of Al Husseiniya early on Friday.

“Forty-four people who participated in the riots in a number of regions in the kingdom have been arrested and they will be brought before the courts,” the security directorate said in a statement.

It said reinforcements had been sent to the provinces, and accused “vandals and outlaws” of being behind violence in Maan, in the south of the country.

Interior Minister Mazen Al Faraya said on Friday that “the security services are working to arrest the perpetrator and bring him to justice as soon as possible”.

Jordan's King Abdullah II visited the colonel's family to offer his condolences on Friday and said that “anyone who raises a weapon against the state will be dealt with firmly”.

The colonel was buried in his home town of Jeraash, about 60km north of the capital Amman, on Friday.

The king on Saturday visited the hospital where two policemen who were injured in the protests in Al Husseiniya were being treated, Jordan's Ammon news website reported.

Jordan's cybercrime unit announced on Saturday that the video-sharing platform TikTok platform was being temporarily suspended in the kingdom over user posts that “laud and publish violent acts” and called for “chaos”.

“The unit monitors all that is posted on social media platforms, particularly posts related to hate speech, incitation to sabotage, attacks on law enforcement bodies and properties and cutting off roads,” it said.

The cyber unit said it had “informed owners of these platforms, in co-operation with relevant government institutions and within the legal framework, on the inflammatory content of many accounts.” It said that it received a quick response from the platforms, and they deleted many fabricated and malicious videos, and suspended many accounts targeting Jordan.

Taxi and lorry drivers in several provinces of southern Jordan began strike actions more than a week ago in protest against higher fuel costs.

They agreed to end their strike from Monday after the government reached a deal with the Bus Owners' Association and Transport Services and Taxi Owners' Union to increase cash subsidies for the passenger transport sector in return for not raising fares, the Land Transport Regulatory Commission said.

However, protests broke out when demonstrators blocked roads with burning tyres and confronted security forces in some areas.

Fuel prices have nearly doubled in Jordan compared with a year earlier, particularly the diesel used by lorries and buses, and kerosene used for heating.

With reporting from agencies