2 killed in Clashes in Tafileh, southern Jordan
Two people were killed and two others were injured in a fight that broke out Wednesday afternoon in Tafileh governorate, south of Jordan, in front of the Tafileh Education District building in the center of the city.
Firearms and knives were used in the clashes that left two people dead, one of which was pronounced dead at the Intensive Care Unit at Prince Zayd military-run Hospital south of the city.
Two others were rushed to the hospital after sustaining serious injuries. One man was rushed to Al Hussein Medical City in Amman and remains in critical condition, a statement by the Public Security Directorate (PSD) reported.
The fight broke out when a group of individuals followed the Director of the Examination Department at the Tafileh Education District “Hamad Abbas H.” as he was leaving his office Wednesday afternoon and attacked him with sharp objects.
Security reports indicate that they attacked him with knives, inciting him to draw a gun he had in possession and fire at them, fatally shooting one man (hamzeh A.) and wounding another before the group exchanged gunfire.
Sources at Wad Zayd District in Tafileh reported that a large number of family members of the victims crowded at the Prince Zayd Hospital, but denied that any gunfire exchange occurred there.
The PSD Press Office said that investigations are ongoing into the details of the incident, adding that security has been intensified in the area to maintain order.
Regarding the details of the fight, informed sources told Ammon News that a dispute occurred between an education counselor and the Director of the Examination Department in Tafileh after the latter refused to grant the councelor approval to monitor an examination hall in the district.
The counselor later last week visited the Director at his home and ended up in a verbal dispute.
The counselor on Wednesday headed to the Tafileh Education District building and attacked the Examination Director with a sharp object, inciting the latter to draw a personal firearm and exchange gunfire with a group that had accompanied the councelor.
Meanwhile, Gendarmerie forces have intensified their presence in area villages where parties involved in the incident live. Gendarmerie forces also cordoned off roads leading the hospital after crowds of relatives gathered there.
Tribal leaders and dignitaries from Tafileh intervened to prevent possible escalation of violence.
MP Nidal Qatameen, a deputy from Tafileh, left Amman following a parliamentary session on Wednesday to help contain the incident.
Tafileh Governor Public Prosecutor Judge Khalil Sarayreh ordered the bodies of the victims transferred to the Southern Center for Forensic Medicine for a post-mortem.
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