AMMAN Ñ Jordan has cracked down on its pro-Iraqi opposition.
Jordanian security agents have arrested opposition leaders and Islamic
militants over the weekend as huge unauthorized protests broke out around the
kingdom against the United States. Several dozen people were said to have
been detained.
A statement by the opposition coalition said leading members of the
Islamic Action Front and leftwing parties were arrested. The opposition also
said members of the pro-Iraqi Socialist Baath Party were detained on Friday
and Saturday, Middle East Newsline reported.
Officials did not confirm the arrests. But they acknowledged that
Jordanian authorities have taken strong measures to prevent further unrest
in the kingdom.
In Amman, thousands of Jordanians ignored a ban on unauthorized
demonstrations and fought riot police. The violence was the most intense in
the Wihdat neighborhood, inhabited mostly by Palestinians.
On late Friday, Jordanian King Abdullah urged for unity and called on
people to express their sentiments in what he termed a civilized manner.
