arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Riots started Sunday in Maan, in response to a severe governmental crackdown on political opposition in the country, following the killing of an American diplomat in Amman.

Al-Jazeera satellite television in Qatar said that its reporter in Jordan, Yasser Abu Hilalah was detained by Jordanian police whose house was raided yesterday. Abu Hilalah was released, but he is likely to be charged for violating a curfew imposed on al-Jazeera reporters in the small kingdom, following the closure of the stations offices last August.

News reports from the city, under strict military curfew say that Jordanian army helicopters are bombarding the town, particularly the Tur neighborhood. The government claims that a gang or Jordanians and foreigners, referring to a small Islamic group, is refusing to surrender.

In turn, Jordanian authorities are accused of using the assassination of a top US official to crackdown on political opposition in the country, as the intense clashes began Sunday between hundreds of armed men and Jordanian police.

Opposition sources in Amman accuse the government of justifying its sweeps against the opposition and wide scale arrests that have reached scores of activists throughout Jordan by the recent killing of an American diplomat in Amman. They fear that the security sweep is an attempt to silence the opposition ahead of an anticipated US war on Iraq.

One Jordanian solider was reportedly killed and several others were wounded, mostly civilians and police officers, witnesses say.

The Islamic Action Front (IAF) who has been trying to avoid a confrontation with the government, decided to come out strong against the clashes, warning of an escalation in the situation and widening the repercussions that could endanger national security.

The Islamic Brotherhood, another powerful party in Jordan, criticized the government in a statement, saying that the government can deal with any wanted fugitive without this violence or by terrorizing innocent people.

Several of the governments critics have also been arrested, including a reporter for al-Arab Today newspaper.

Residents say that the army and police were clearly planning to storm the city as armored vehicles and Armored personnel Carriers (APC) were arriving from the capital Amman to take positions in and around Maan.

An unnamed Jordanian official told Reuters by phone that the operation was aimed at putting behind bars suspects and extremist individuals who might cause trouble and attempt to act of sabotage amid a tense domestic situation in the events of a US war against Iraq.

He was quoted as saying, the security operation mounted in Maan is a precautionary step to ensure that the situation on the ground does not get out of hand in the event of war.