AMMAN: Jordan has arrested dozens of people accused of involvement in protests against rising fuel prices in which a senior police officer was gunned down, the country's security agency said Saturday. Colonel Abdul Razzaq Dalabeh, the deputy police chief of Maan province, died of a gunshot to the head in the town of Al-Husseiniya on Thursday while confronting what the authorities called "riots".

"Forty-four people who participated in the riots in a number of regions in the kingdom have been arrested and they will be brought before the courts," the Public Security Directorate said in a statement. It said reinforcements had been sent to the provinces, and accused "vandals and outlaws" of being behind violence in Maan, in the country's south.

Jordan's King Abdullah II warned on Friday that "anyone who raises a weapon against the state will be dealt with firmly". Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya, also on Friday, said "the security services are working to arrest the perpetrator and bring him to justice as soon as possible". Two other policemen were shot and wounded, also in Al-Husseiniya, the security directorate said.

Cab and truck drivers in several provinces of southern Jordan began strike actions more than a week ago. They were joined by bus drivers, and merchants who closed their shops on Wednesday to protest higher fuel costs. Protests broke out last week when demonstrators blocked roads with burning tyres and confronted security forces in some areas. Fuel prices have nearly doubled in Jordan compared with a year earlier, particularly the diesel used by trucks and buses, and kerosene for heating. The government has proposed relief measures including financial aid for the most-affected families.

Forty-nine security force members have been injured and more than 150 security and private citizens' vehicles attacked, PSD chief Major General Obaidullah Al-Maaytah told reporters. The PSD's cybercrime unit said on Friday it suspended operations of the TikTok app inside the kingdom "after its misuse", citing incitement to violence and "calls for chaos".

"Our demands are only reducing the price or cancelling taxes on fuel, effectively linking it to the global price," one protester, Majed Al-Sharari, told AFP. He joined dozens of striking public transport drivers who stopped their buses at the side of the road in Maan. They raised banners that read "Dignity strike". "We're not calling for chaos, and we're not rioters," Sharari said, blaming the government for "the blood of the martyr". The strike is peaceful and we are cooperating with the security services." Sharari, 56, complained that the protesters had been there for 15 days but no official had spoken with them.

Faraya told a press conference the government "is aware of the difficult living conditions and that coping with them is not easy," but violence would only make things worse. "This crime will not go unpunished, and the security services are working to arrest the perpetrator and bring him to justice as soon as possible," Faraya said. He added that government buildings and private institutions had been set on fire, car windows smashed, and 48 electricity poles toppled in Maan.

Energy costs have led to protests in Jordan before, including in 2018 when prime minister Hani Mulki resigned after several days of rallies against proposed tax reforms and energy price increases. The United States, a close ally of Jordan, on Thursday said US government personnel had been restricted from both personal and official travel to the provinces of Karak, Tafilah, Maan, and Aqaba until further notice. This was because of "reports of ongoing protests, burning tyres, and throwing stones at vehicles on streets and highways throughout Jordan and particularly in the south," the US embassy in Jordan said.

King Abdullah personally extended condolences to the family of the dead officer. "We will not accept assaults on the members of our security forces," a statement from his office quoted him as saying. The king affirmed the citizens' "right to express their opinions through peaceful means" over the economic conditions, but added "anyone who raises a weapon against the state will be dealt with firmly". The World Bank says Jordan is heavily in debt and faces around 23 percent unemployment. The Hashemite kingdom relies extensively on foreign aid. - AFP