Jordanians do not use weapons against security forces, Analyst

Shafaq News/ Clashes erupted between security forces and protestors in Jordan, killing one police officer and wounding others over high fuel prices.

The Jordanian political Analyst, Durgham Khaitan Al-Halsa, told Shafaq News agency that the protests in the southern regions are over the unprecedentedly high fuel prices.

"The Jordanians know today that not all oil revenues are included in the budget but are taken to safe havens, Swiss banks, the elites with power, their children, and wives, as revealed by the Pandora papers." The Jordanian Analyst said.

Al-Halsa revealed that Iraq exports crude oil to Jordan at preferential prices of 16$ for one barrel, but even so, "the oil is being bought from Iraqi smugglers for 15 $ per barrel."

He expected that the situation would worsen, as the Jordanian government is "determined not to respond to popular demands, citing the new taxes imposed by the International Monetary Fund."

Al-Halsa did not rule out using the Jordanian Army to control the situation, pointing out that "the government would hold control the use of social media and the Internet."

Jordan announced it was imposing a "temporary ban" on the social media platform TikTok.

Videos from the strike and protests flooded TikTok. As a result, Jordan's Public Security Directorate suspended the popular short-form video application "after its misuse and failing to deal with publications inciting violence and disorder."

Regarding the casualties in the demonstrations, Al-Halsa confirmed that "we lost five security officers, including a colonel."

"The colonel's family held the government responsible for the killing and refused to receive its delegation in the mourning ceremony."

The Analyst stressed that the protesters were not using weapons."