Two dead in Oman clashes with protesters

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Two dead in Oman clashes with protesters

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Omani police fired rubber bullets at stone-throwing demonstrators demanding political reform on Sunday, killing two people, and protesters set government buildings and cars ablaze, witnesses said.

28 February,2011 07:55 am

The trouble in the industrial town of Sohar was a rare sign of discontent in the normally sleepy Gulf Arab sultanate and followed a wave of pro-democracy protests across the Arab world. The witnesses said more than 2,000 protesters had gathered for a second day in a square in Sohar, on the north coast, before police tried to disperse them, first with tear gas and batons and then rubber bullets.Mostly wealthy Gulf Arab countries have stepped up measures to appease their populations following popular unrest that toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.