The Jordanian capital Amman experienced its second consecutive evening of protests on Monday as the country recorded a record number of Covid-19 cases, with nearly 10,000 new infections.
To cries of “Down with the emergency law”, “Jordan is not for the corrupt”, “Down with the government”, about 400 people, mostly young, marched through the city center before run into a police roadblock, an AFP videographer noted.
Protesters set tires and garbage cans on fire and then threw stones at the police, who responded with tear gas canisters.
Demonstrations also took place in Madaba (south of Amman) and Irbid (north), according to videos posted by protesters.
These protests take place against a backdrop of tensions in the kingdom.
The deaths on Saturday of seven Covid-19 patients in intensive care in a hospital near Amman, following a lack of oxygen, angered the population.
King Abdullah II said Monday, according to the Royal Palace, that “the loss of human life through negligence was unacceptable”.
In addition, the demonstrators are unhappy with the curfew introduced at 7:00 p.m. to fight the pandemic and which, according to them, paralyzes economic activity and puts many daily workers out of work.
“People are fed up, they want to work and earn money. This nighttime curfew is useless,” Mohammad Al Saoud, a 30-year-old employee, told AFP.
“We want the emergency law to end and protest against what happened at (the hospital in) Salt. We want to live,” he added.
The Ministry of Health reported 9,417 new infections on Monday, a record since the start of the pandemic. In total, 486,470 cases of coronavirus have been officially recorded since March 2020 in Jordan, including 5,428 deaths.
Before the demonstration, the government issued a statement to stress that faced “with the critical epidemiological situation, its priority was to protect the life and health of citizens and that is why it was necessary to enforce the law”.
King Abdullah II, meanwhile, said “understand the difficulties facing the Jordanians” and that Jordan would “overcome the exceptional circumstances that the country is going through”.
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The Jordanian capital Amman experienced its second consecutive evening of protests on Monday as the country recorded a record number of Covid-19 cases, with nearly 10,000 new infections. Jordan is not for the corrupt “,” Down with the government “, about 400 people, mostly young, marched through the city center …
