Riot police attack demonstrators, journalists in Jordan's capital

(CNN) -- Riot police in Jordan attacked demonstrators Friday on the streets of Amman, in some cases punching, kicking and beating them with sticks.
Police got in between two groups -- one backing the government while the other called for reform -- to pacify the situation, government spokesman Abdullah Abu Rumman told state-run Petra news agency.
The incident occurred as dueling marchers met up in downtown Amman after Friday Muslim prayers, at which point authorities got involved.
Police Capt. Mahmoud El-Khatib offered a similar account to CNN, saying that police only used "appropriate force" while trying to do their jobs.
But video from reporters on the scene, including CNN, suggested a different story.
While there have been demonstrations in Jordan, as elsewhere in the Arab world, they have been largely peaceful and few have called for the ouster of its ruler, King Abdullah II.
Yet the violence Friday was at times stark, with riot police using batons, for instance, to beat protesters.
One man lay on the ground, covered with blood-soaked tissues after a witness said he was hit in the head. Another shows a big gash on his arms. A woman, part of a group of 20 huddled together, said she felt shaky after being knocked in the head.
The state-run news report did not offer a casualty count, beyond claiming that 17 police officers were injured in the clashes.
There were "light to medium injuries to a number of journalists," Petra reported.
Rumman described these injuries as accidental, rejecting any attacks on journalists and calling them the Jordanian government's "partners."
Mohammed Hanoun, a photographer, said that he was attacked by police -- arguing with an official press liaison, who denied the media was being targeted.
"This is the moment I was hit," said Hanoun, showing a picture. "Do you see it? This is the last picture I took, he hit me with the shield."
Journalists typically wear orange vests in Jordan so they can be identified from protesters or police. In defiance to the treatment of him and others, many media members took off their orange vests in solidarity.
Salman Al Masaed, who was in the front row of the pro-reform demonstration, said that he had no doubt that it was police -- and not rival protesters -- waging the offensive.

"We did not see a single person attack us," he said. "The only people that attacked us were the security forces, with their batons."

Posted in: middle east