158 outlaws detained in Maan, search ongoing for 19 others — Majali

AMMAN — Normalcy returned to Maan on Sunday after several days of riots and protests following security raids to arrest “wanted criminals” in the southern governorate, Interior Minister Hussein Majali said on Sunday.

In remarks at the Lower House’s Sunday session, Majali said security agencies managed to arrest 158 criminals over the past few days and are now working to detain 19 more.

The aim of these security activities in Maan, some 220km south of Amman, is to track down and detain outlaws, the minister stressed, noting that the people of Maan are not the target.

He was responding to MPs’ queries over the clashes between security forces and criminals in Maan over the past few days. 

The riots in Maan began last Tuesday following the death of a resident during a police chase of wanted suspects who attacked police guarding a court building. 

Angry residents blocked roads with burning tyres, and several shops and banks were attacked and vandalised following last week’s deadly incident. 

“There is no security campaign in Maan,” Majali noted, rather, the authorities’ current target is 19 “criminals” who are still at large and are a source of instability for the city.

The security forces are not targeting any individual for his/her political or religious activities in Maan, the minister added. 

He denied accusations that the state and its agencies are targeting the city and its inhabitants.

The “good people of Maan” and surrounding areas have exerted great efforts to bring things back to normal in the southern city, Majali said, thanking them for their cooperation.

“Maan residents are with the security forces when they focus on arresting the outlaws,” Maan 1st District Deputy Amjad Al Khattab said, stressing that innocent bystanders should not be drawn into the line of fire.

Another MP from Maan, Awad Kreishan said security operations should be implemented in a “civilised manner”, wondering why authorities did not go after the outlaws before they increased in number and capabilities.

Car chase in Maan

Also on Sunday, police arrested two men following a car chase in downtown Maan at 3pm that left three injured, an official source said.

“The vehicle was forced to stop and its three occupants fired at police forces and then attempted to escape on foot,” the source added.

Police fired tear gas in an attempt to stop the men from running away, and three people suffered tear gas inhalation, the source added.

“Two men were arrested while the third managed to escape but no one was hurt from the bullets that were fired,” he noted.

An official at Maan Public Hospital told The Jordan Times that three people were admitted Sunday suffering from tear gas inhalation.

“The three were treated and released from hospital the same day,” the official added.

*Al Rai’s Haroun Al Khattab contributed to this report