At least one person dies, dozens injured in Jordanian protests

At least one person has died and more than 100 were injured after an anti-government protest in Amman, Jordan turned violent.

According to Al Jazeera, the person who died was beaten to death by riot police and pro-government loyalists.
The injured also included policemen who were called in to control the rally.

Two of the injured are in critical condition, a medical source at the scene told Al Jazeera.

Protesters in Amman reportedly chanted: The revolution is happening all around us and Jordan, your turn is coming.

Agence France Presse (AFP) reported that the clash accelerated when about 200 government supporters threw stones at more than 2,000 young demonstrators who are demanding democratic reforms and an end to corruption. They also want constitutional amendments in order to have parliamentary governments.

The government and the regime should realize that time is not on their side and it is on the country's side, Said Diab, head of the Jordanian Popular Unity Party, told AFP as the protesters called for the expulsion of Israel's ambassador to Amman.

AFP also said that anti-riot police also dispersed a protest camp that was set up by students and arrested several of them.

Our gathering is peaceful, but this did not prevent the attacks, a demonstrator told Al Jazeera.

Another young protester said: Does the king agree with such actions? We are Jordanians and we have the right to express ourselves.”

After police tried to disperse the crowd by cutting off the power supply, dozens of government loyalists reportedly attacked protesters while policemen did nothing to intervene.

We hold the interior minister responsible for this incident and we call on the king and the people to protect us from these thugs who are attacking us, another protester told AJ.

The government seemed to blame the violence to a clash between rival demonstrator group.

Since this wave of protesters has swept across our region, we've had protests every Friday, said Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. I think police were caught in between [the two groups, causing several officers to be injured]. Things have gotten a little out of hand. But we have a leadership that initiates reform.
Also, loyalists to the government also assembled in Al-Hussein Gardens west of Amman to highlight their loyalty and allegiance to the king.