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AMMAN — Gendarmerie Department Director Maj. Gen. Hussein Hawatmeh on Saturday met with dignitaries and community leaders in Karak in a bid to restore calm in a part of the southern city following small-scale riots that erupted during protests against the government’s decision to increase prices of many commodities, official sources said.
The southern governorate witnessed protests over the weekend by dozens of residents who reportedly set tyres on fire, attempted to attack public properties and block roads, a senior security official said.
“No one was injured and our forces dealt with the protestors using the appropriate measures,” the senior security official told The Jordan Times.
The official said that Hawatmeh, accompanied by other security officers from different agencies, met with several community leaders and deputies in Karak, 140km south of Amman, to discuss the riots and “the best means to contain the situation”, the senior official source added.
Dozens of people were arrested on Friday “and released on bail on Saturday”, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times.
“Everyone who was arrested in Karak because of riots was released on bail and the situation is now calm,” Sartawi said.
This is the second reported incident of riots taking place in Karak governorate in less than a week.
On Wednesday, several people in Karak set tyres on fire and attacked public property following news that their relative died from gunshot wounds after spending one week in hospital.
Police officials told The Jordan Times last week that the “family of the 27-year-old victim was angry and set tyres on fire, blocked streets and attacked some properties. The situation was contained with the presence of gendarmeries forces”.
The senior official said that the two riot incidents that occurred in Karak last week “were definitely not related to each other”.
