Oman: Six Dead in Weekend Protests, Unrest Continues

The protest wave spread to Oman over the weekend when residents of the city of Sohar, an industrial city 124 miles north of the capital Muscat, gathered to demand political and economic reforms.  Two people were  reported killed during clashes with security forces, although Reuters has updated that number to six as of Monday.  Angry demonstrators burned down two police stations and a state building on Sunday.  Protests continued on Monday with local media reporting that demonstrators have set fire to a supermarket, cars, and the local governor’s house.  In response to the unrest, Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sacked six cabinet ministers and announced the creation of 50,000 new government jobs.  Protests spread on Monday to the southern Omani town of Salalah.

Oman is an absolute monarchy and the Consultative Assembly is an advisory body to the Sultan with no legislative powers. The body is technically elected although many Omanis are ineligible to vote and political parties and activism are banned in the kingdom.  The county is also strategically located at the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance point to the Persian Gulf and has been a long-standing ally of the U.S. and U.K.