Eight arrested after university student shot dead in Madaba tribal brawl

AMMAN — Police on Saturday arrested eight suspects in connection with the death of a 25-year-old man on Friday during a brawl between two tribes in Madaba’s Faisalieh town, official sources said.

The situation in the town, over 30km southwest of Amman, remained tense on Saturday after the brawl, in which Mutasem Abul Ghanam, a university student, was shot dead and seven other people were injured, an official source said.

Meanwhile, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times that eight suspects are now in custody and an investigation is under way.

“The two tribes had a big argument three days prior to the incident over an alleged post on Facebook regarding a football match,” the official source explained.

“The situation was contained after the elders of the town contained the situation, but arguments were renewed on Friday because the two parties live next to each other,” the source explained.

But on Friday, the source added, “members from both tribes reopened the issue and used rocks to attack each other”.

“The situation escalated and the two tribes started using handguns and automatic weapons,” the source added.

Gendarmerie forces were called in to intervene and prevent the situation from escalating further, the source maintained.

“There is a heavy security presence in the town, and tribal leaders have intervened by ensuring a tribal settlement between the two parties,” the source continued.

Hesham Azezat contributed to this report