Jordan deployed more than 3,000 security personnel across central Amman on Friday, braced for a planned “day of anger” by the powerful Islamist opposition movement and other parties.
“More than 3,000 members of different security services are currently in downtown in anticipation of the march,” a top security official told AFP.
The Islamic Action Front (IAF) expects around 10,000 of its members as well as supporters of 19 political parties to march in call for reforms, in what they hope will be the largest protest since January.
They also vowed to “denounce violence,” in which eight people were hurt last week when a baton-wielding mob waded into a pro-reform march in Amman.
“Three people have been arrested over their suspected involvement in the violence last Friday,” another senior security official told AFP.
The government has condemned the violence and opened a probe into the incident.
Ahead of Friday’s rally, dozens of supporters of the Hashemite royal family gathered outside Al-Husseini Mosque, in the heart of the capital.
The US embassy in Amman has warned Americans in Jordan to avoid anti-government demonstrations, which erupted last month to protest against the rising cost of living, and demand economic and political reforms.
They were inspired by the popular revolt that ousted Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14.
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