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| Some 700 protesters blocked access to Oman’s second biggest port in Sohar, more than 200 kms northwest of Muscat, preventing the movement of vehicles yesterday |
Hundreds of demonstrators stormed a police station in the key industrial area of Sohar, northwest of the capital Muscat, and police responded by firing tear gas.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in the clashes that broke out near Earth Roundabout, a key intersection on the main road to the capital, where deadly violence erupted on Sunday, a correspondent reported. The protesters, who are demanding jobs and political reform, continued to man roadblocks around Sohar despite the announcement by the authorities of new benefits for the jobless and more powers for an elected advisory council.
The protesters have been keeping a vigil at Earth Roundabout for three straight days, defying police efforts to remove them.
Some 700 protesters also blocked access to the town’s port -- Oman’s second biggest -- yesterday, preventing the movement of vehicles, a correspondent reported.
They seized several trucks with which they blocked the entrance.
The protesters called for “the abolition of all taxes,” including taxes on health care and on lands offered by the state.
There were conflicting reports on the death toll from Sunday’s clashes. A security official had said on Sunday that police killed two people and wounded about five others when they fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators attacking a police station near the roundabout.
The protesters gave a higher toll.
“I saw five killed at the police station yesterday,” said one of them, 25-year-old Abdullah al-Meqbali.
A government spokesman cited by the state ONA news agency said yesterday that only one person was killed, and Health Minister Ahmed al-Saeedi gave the same figure in an interview with the Al Jazeera satellite channel.
He said a second person had survived despite suffering a bullet wound to the stomach.
ONA news agency said rioting had begun at dawn on Saturday and continued on Sunday. It said several government and privately owned cars had been torched.
The protesters also set fire to the governor’s house in Sohar, more than 200 kilometres from the capital, and a correspondent said a shopping mall had been torched.
Omani protesters insist they are merely calling for jobs and reform. Mohamed Mohamed, who said his brother Abdullah Mohamed, 36, was killed by police on Sunday, said the family would not bury him until the killers are put on trial.
“We will not take the body (from the mortuary). We want to know the killer, and the reasons behind the killing... and we want him to be punished according to law,” he said.
Mohamed said his brother was killed by live fire and not rubber bullets.
In a move towards addressing the grievances of the protesters, Sultan Qaboos announced 50,000 new jobs would be created for Omani citizens and benefits provided for the unemployed.
A royal decree carried by ONA on Sunday said a monthly allowance of 150 riyals ($390) would be given to each registered job seeker.
Sultan Qaboos also ordered the formation of a ministerial committee, headed by the palace affairs minister to put together proposals to meet calls for more powers for Oman’s elected consultative council.