Hundreds of protesting religious hard-liners clashed with supporters of Jordan's king on Friday, wounding dozens, in the latest move by the extremist movement to assert itself amid the country's wave of anti-government demonstrations.
A crowd of about 350 extremists faced off with a slightly smaller group of loyalists in the town of Zarqa. The extremists beat the government supporters with clubs and fists, and the two sides hurled stones at each other, leaving people bloodied on the ground.
The Salafi movement is banned in Jordan, but it has grown in strength in recent years and members of the group have held a series of rallies in various parts of the country in recent weeks.
Their demonstrations are separate from the 14-week-old wave of anti-government protests by leftists and others demanding democratic reforms in the country.
More than 2,000 Jordanians took to the streets throughout the country Friday to press their demands for a greater political voice. About half of them demonstrated outside Amman's municipal building after Friday prayers.
They held a huge Jordanian flag and chanted, "We sacrifice our blood and soul for Jordan. Reform the system now." Police separated them from a small group of government loyalists who shouted threats: "Those who fight us, beware! Our rocks will smash your heads."
The violence in Zarqa began when a crowd of extremists rallied in front of the town's Omar ibn Khattab Mosque. A crowd of government supporters gathered nearby to watch. One of the government loyalists waved a framed portrait of King Abdallah in the air and marched toward the crowd.
The extremists started to push him back, then beat him and he fell to the ground, his face bloodied. Other extremists rushed to nearby cars, pulled out clubs and cables and attacked the rival group.
Stone throwing and fistfights erupted, leaving many bloodied, until police intervened and convinced the government supporters to move farther away from the mosque.
Zarqa, an industrial city north of the capital, Amman, is the birthplace of slain Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.
The Salafi movement is banned in Jordan, but it has grown in strength in recent years and members of the group have held a series of rallies in various parts of the country in recent weeks.
Their demonstrations are separate from the 14-week-old wave of anti-government protests by leftists and others demanding democratic reforms in the country.
More than 2,000 Jordanians took to the streets throughout the country Friday to press their demands for a greater political voice. About half of them demonstrated outside Amman's municipal building after Friday prayers.
They held a huge Jordanian flag and chanted, "We sacrifice our blood and soul for Jordan. Reform the system now." Police separated them from a small group of government loyalists who shouted threats: "Those who fight us, beware! Our rocks will smash your heads."
The violence in Zarqa began when a crowd of extremists rallied in front of the town's Omar ibn Khattab Mosque. A crowd of government supporters gathered nearby to watch. One of the government loyalists waved a framed portrait of King Abdallah in the air and marched toward the crowd.
The extremists started to push him back, then beat him and he fell to the ground, his face bloodied. Other extremists rushed to nearby cars, pulled out clubs and cables and attacked the rival group.
Stone throwing and fistfights erupted, leaving many bloodied, until police intervened and convinced the government supporters to move farther away from the mosque.
Zarqa, an industrial city north of the capital, Amman, is the birthplace of slain Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.
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