Police nab 10 after brawl near Zarqa church

AMMAN — Police have arrested around 10 people who allegedly tried to attack a man who had taken refuge in a church in Zarqa on Friday, police said on Saturday

The incident began when a man entering a church on Friday evening exchanged words with a street vendor, said Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi.

“The issue escalated and the street vendor told his friends about the incident. They tried to enter the church to deal with the man in question,” the police official told The Jordan Times.

When the street vendor’s friends could not talk directly with the man, who stayed inside the church, they threw rocks and damaged some vehicles in the area, Sartawi added.

“We immediately arrested several people who were involved in the attack that has no religious basis,” the police official said.

Elias Haddad, who was at the church, said “the problem began between a man who was entering the church with his wife and a street vendor, because the man thought the street vendor uttered inappropriate words about his wife”.

“The problem escalated and the street vendor called on his friends to help him deal with the man in question and when they attempted to talk to him, the church closed its doors. This is when the attack started,” Haddad told The Jordan Times.

Father Jehad Ammari, who was at the church holding a religious ceremony, said the incident was simply an “altercation between young men outside the church premises”.

“The incident did not carry any religious or racist sentiment. It was just a small fight between one of our church goers and a group of men in the neighbourhood,” Ammari told The Jordan Times.

He praised the authorities’ quick response in arresting several people and promising to compensate “for the damage to some parked vehicles in the church’s parking lot”.

Ammari also expressed his gratitude for the “dozens of Jordanian officials and Muslim residents and leaders of the area who rushed to denounce the incident although it was not religiously motivated”.

“What happened on Friday and the amount of support and solidarity by our community and officials truly reflects the atmosphere of love, harmony, acceptance and coexistence of the two religions in our country,” he added.