A march took off after the Friday prayer at the King Hussein Mosque, downtown, with the participation of around 500 persons from different parties, including student groups and activists, among others, all of them demanding political and economic changes in governance, decrying poverty and hunger as well as fixing problems with parliament.

Fights started among participants and about 50 pro-government persons who tried to hinder the march moving to the Ras Al-Ain area by tearing down several of the signs, which drove some of the participants back to the King Hussein Mosque to end the march and save themselves, after stones started being thrown and sharp tools used as weapons, while security forces tried to separate participants.

Some participants were injured in the incident: writer Muwaffaq Mahadeen suffered a beating with batons that led to a broken arm. Mahadeen’s son, Firas, was injured as well. They both were transferred to the hospital later on.

The Secretary General Deputy of the Popular United Party, Issam Khawaja, has told AmmanNet that seven or eight people were injured in the fight.

Public Security Department (PSD) spokesperson Lt. Colonel Mohammad Khatib has said that the march met with another, opposing march, whose participants called on them to stop playing with the kingdom’s security. Other workers of downtown-area businesses joined this march, as they said that such things create an obstacle in performing their daily jobs.

Khatib added that his men interfered only when people at both marches started to fight each other, as both sides have the right to express their opinions peacefully.