Ammon News - From Mohammed Abo Hmaed in Maan

AMMONNEWS - The Jordanian authorities will not tolerate armed gatherings, Minister of Interior and Municipal Affairs Hussein Majali said during a meeting in the southern governorate of Maan on Saturday.

Majali headed to Maan, some 220 kilometers south of the capital Amman, and met with tribal leaders and local officials there to discuss the wave of violence that afflicted the governorate since last Monday's deadly clashes at Al Hussein bin Talal University, that left 4 dead and dozens injured.

The Minister criticized local residents who blamed the government for the violence, stressing instead that the violence in Maan came after clashes that erupted between members of the Hweitat tribe and Maan residents, stressing "this is not a conspiracy against the kingdom."

Majali responded to claims that the security forces are biased towards certain tribes against others, stressing "we do not accept accusations against the security forces of being biased to either side, we are all Jordanians."

The Minister stressed that investigation into the violence is ongoing, and pledged to arrest and prosecute those responsible.

he called on local residents to reopen the roads, citing that road blockage is impeding police's work to search for perpetrators of violence.

The meeting took place in a military installation in the southern Badia, and was attended by Chiefs of the Public Security Department, Gendarmerie Department, Badiya Forces, and the governor of Maan, in addition to local tribal elders and leaders.

Last Monday, clashes erupted during an "open day" held at Al Hussein bin Talal University to celebrate the anniversary of its founding. The student clashes escalated and rioters received arms supplies from outside the campus.

Four people were killed during the clashes, including a university employee, a student, a policeman who is also a student, and a high school student who was visiting the campus that day.

Riots and street closures erupted following Monday's incident, with members of the Hweitat tribe, which lost two of its members in the campus violence, blocking main roads and setting up search points and stopping vehicles and asking for IDs.

The angry young men also demanded that the police release members of the tribe who were arrested as police rounded up suspects for involvement in Monday's violence.

The southern governorate witnessed major road blockage in the main desert highway connecting the governorate with the rest of the Kingdom. A Saudi Arabian man was reportedly shot as he was passing the Hussainiyah district.

Minister Majali called on tribal leaders and residents to urge locals to maintain peace and order, and urged the Hweitat tribe and others to commit to the truce period agreed upon on Thursday.

A tribal delegation representing Jordan's main tribes headed to Maan on Thursday and reached an agreement with the Bawab and Hweitat tribes to contain violence and maintain order until security and police forces investigate the incident and arrest those responsible for the deaths and injuries last week.

Majali urged the tribes to give police time to investigate the incident, stressing that such sensitive incident requires time and patience to ensure accuracy and proper results. He noted that Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour delegated him to make a full list of suspects, "we are looking for them and need your cooperation," Majali added.(More below)



Meanwhile, residents who attended the meeting expressed dismay at the role of the government in containing the violence. "We feel that the eminence of the state has been shaken," one local resident said.

Maan locals also criticized a statement issued by the Hweitat tribe following Monday's deadly clashes, in which they threatened to take revenge from Maan residents if police do not disclose the identity of those responsible for the death of two Hweitat members.

The Maan residents said that the Hweitat tribe's blocking main roads and acts of vandalism has negatively impacted the governorate, and called on police to re-open the main desert highway and prevent angry young men from blocking it again.

Attendees warned of the phenomenon of escalating violence on university campus that has afflicted local universities in the past few years.

They called on King Abdullah II to intervene to restore order and security in the southern governorate. "We hope that you will convey to His Majesty what is happening in the south and in our universities," attendees told Minister Majali.

"At the entrance of our city, we are being asked if we are from the Hweitat tribe or from Maan," a local resident said, "it is as if you are being asked if you are Sunni or Shi'a in countries where sectarian strife is rampant," he added.

Locals also addressed Majali with requests to investigate how arms and weapons are allowed to enter into university campuses, "is the government's stalling in addressing these incidents deliberate to distract people from other problems?" one local asked.

Local residents warned that outlaws, drug and arms dealers are taking advantage of the chaos in the southern governorate.

One university student who witnessed Monday's violence in Al Hussein university said that a bus full of weapons arrived on campus and refueled the clashes, citing that cameras erected throughout campus captured these scenes, asking the Interior Minister why police are not checking video footage from campus.