Jordanians mass to condemn deadly attacks

19 Nov, 2005

At least 200,000 people on Friday marched though the centre of the Jordanian capital Amman in a mass show of anger at the triple suicide bombings this month that left 59 dead, police and organisers said.
Many protestors shouted slogans against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant whose group claimed the blast, chanting: "Zarqawi, from Amman, we say to you: you are a coward."
Brandishing banners with the names of their tribes and which pledged their loyalty to King Abdullah II, the demonstrators appeared to have come from every corner of the country.
It was by far the largest show of public fury against extremism since the November 9 blasts in Amman shattered the relative calm of the kingdom. A similar protest two days after the attacks only mustered around 2,000 people.
"More than 100,000 people took part in the demonstration which left the al-Husseini mosque and then moved towards Amman town hall," security forces spokesman Bashir al-Daajeh told AFP.
The demonstrators marched a 2.5 kilometre route before arriving at the town hall where several addressed the public to denounce "this savage terrorist crime" or to recite poems in praise of Jordan and the royal dynasty.
The civil groups that organised the protests said that no less than 200,000 people took part in the demonstration.
"With our soul and with our blood we will sacrifice ourselves for you Abu Hussein (a reference to King Abdullah)" and "With our souls and with our blood we will sacrifice ourselves for you, o Jordan" were among the slogans chanted by the demonstrators.

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