Police fire teargas shells to quell protesters in Sohar

Muscat: Special security agencies had to fire teargas shells to disperse a crowd of over 200 after Friday prayers in Sohar, according to eye witnesses today.

“It started with 20-30 young Omani taking out a protest march after Friday prayers at the Shaikh Khalifa mosque but they were blocked by the police near Tariff Roundabout, after that the numbers swelled,” an activist told Gulf News from Sohar on the condition of anonymity.

He said that the people in protest march did try to convince police that the march was peaceful but they refused to relent. “After a while as tension increased with protesters standing their ground, the police fired teargas to disperse them.”

Last Tuesday the Misdemeanour Court of First Instance in Muscat handed out harshest punishment so far for activists in Oman when it sent seven protesters from Sohar to five-year jail term and fined each of them 100 Omani riyals.

An expatriate witness said that most of the protesters looked very young. “Those protesting today looked different from the past protests,” he said adding that in the earlier protests middle aged men also took part but this time only youngsters were seen.

The expatriate, who didn’t want to be identified, said that this time around the police looked better prepared to handle the situation and life was otherwise normal with regular traffic movement.

“I went and did my shopping at a hypermarket after the incident but had no problems commuting from my house to the hypermarket,” he said, adding the palpable tension experienced during protest last March was missing this time as police looked in complete control.

There were also acts of arson when protesters damaged some vehicles around Tariff Roundabout.

According to the activist, three people have been arrested so far today.

Violent protests started in Sohar at the end of last February and then for over two months protesters had blocked the Globe Roundabout, which had become the epicentre of protests against corruption, unemployment and rising prices in Oman.