Jordan security forces 'block protesters' in Amman as fuel price hike demos persist

Jordan's security forces on Saturday reportedly blocked a march through the capital city Amman as tensions over the killing of a police officer earlier this week during fuel price protests persist.

Residents of the city's Tafaila neighbourhood were marching downtown on Saturday when security forces fired tear gas at them, footage from the area appears to show.

Officials had earlier said citizens would be allowed to peacefully protest against rising fuel prices - but threatened a crackdown on any vandalism or violence that may take place.

Demonstrations over the hike-up of fuel prices, higher taxes, and the increasingly difficult economic situation in the country began two weeks ago.

The protests initially began in the southern city of Ma'an, and have since spread nationwide.

Tensions spiked after the killing of a senior police officer at a protest in the Ma'an area on Thursday, and Jordanian officials vowed security measures would be stepped up in response to the death.

In another move to quash protests, Jordan’s cybercrime unit on Friday announced it would suspend the video-sharing app TikTok, where information on and footage of the demonstrations was shared.

In Karak, to the west of the country, the municipal council has called on protesters to demonstrate on Monday against what they called the government’s "failure" to respond to their demands and "deliberate" silencing, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

They called on other councils to follow suit.