Tunisia
A curfew was ordered in a central mining town by the authorities after two people died and 20 were injured in clashes between police and protesters.
The protesters were dispersed and some were arrested on Saturday, the latest sign of Tunisia’s struggle to restore stability after a revolution that deposed its autocratic leader. The protests began amid rumours, which were later denied by the authorities, that the regional phosphate mining company was secretly recruiting in a specific tribal area.
Jordan
More than 300 relatives of Jordanian Salafists, including the brother of a double agent who killed seven CIA officers in Afghanistan in 2009, demonstrated outside the Prime Minister’s office in Amman yesterday to demand the release of Islamist prisoners.
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After the suicide bombing at a US base in 2009 Jordan, which is a key American ally, admitted that it had a counter-terrorism role in Afghanistan, highlighting for the first time Amman’s security activity in the country.
Morocco
Dozens of people were hurt in Casablanca yesterday when riot police used truncheons to break up a rally of several hundred demonstrators demanding reforms, witnesses said.
Organisers said that the protest was no different from the demonstrations they had held every week for the past month. King Mohammed has begun moves to reform the Constitution but left-leaning and Islamist opposition groups said that the proposal fell short of their expectations.
Saudi Arabia
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Dozens of Saudis gathered outside the Interior Ministry yesterday to demand the release of jailed relatives, activists said. Protests are banned in Saudi Arabia and the authorities denied that one was taking place.
A call via social media for anti-Government protests went unheeded on Friday in Riyadh as police stepped up their presence. Small protests by minority Shia Muslims, who have complained of marginalisation, have taken place in the east.