The waves of Arab revolt have reached the shores of Oman as hundreds of Omanis take to the streets in calls for reform and the end of corruption in different areas across the Sultanate.
Protests continued in Sohar, the industrial hub and where the Sohar Industrial Port is located in, as over 1000 protesters blocked the entrance to this vital industrial hub on Monday:
@SultanAlQassemi Al Hurra: Eyewitnesses: 1,000 protesters block entrance to Port Sohar. Chants of “We want reform” #Oman
@mehindaa #oman #saudi #kuwait #uae #qatar محتجون يغلقون مدخل ميناء صحار اليوم، ثاني أكبر الموانئ بعُمان http://twitpic.com/44oki2
@RebaBerry #Oman: roads to main export port blocked.
Other protesters have shown their anger against the killings between protesters by riot police by torching a hypermarket and a branch of the Ministry of Labour.
@mehindaa #oman #saudi #kuwait #qatar #uae دخان يرتفع من مبنى تابع لمكتب وزارة القوى العاملة في صحار بعُمان اليوم http://twitpic.com/44o963
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQe1iR4nrXc
by YouTube user freeoman1 who writes:
احتراق مركز لولو التجاري نتيجة لقتل قوات الأمن في سلطنة عمان لمجموعة من المتظاهرين .
Oman's Sultan Qaboos has ordered a number of concessions to help ease the tension in the Sultanate by ordering 50,000 new jobs and seeking the demands of the Sohar protesters.
@3alfailakawi قابوس: يوفد اليوم شخصيات سياسية الى صحار للاستماع لمطالب المعتصمين والمحتجين
@SultanAlQassemi ONA: Sultan Qaboos of Oman orders the Employment of 50,000 Citizens http://bit.ly/dRbHVZ
Following are more reactions from Twitter, curated yesterday:
@muscati: @chanadbh please keep in mind, none of the demonstrations in Oman numbered more than a few hundred and they're all 100% pro the sultan
@Maithams: Something is happening in #Sohar hospital emergency!! Ppl injured! I'll go check! #oman
@Thereluctantmum: right now in sohar, a police station's been stoned and people have been tear-gassed. nearly 150 people.
@khokhz: When will they ever learn!? “@Maithams: CONFIRMED: 12 injured& 1 died in #Sohar #Oman most of them from gunshot wounds! 2 r in surgery!”
@spinonspin: scene in #sohar no longer “green march.” protestors provoking police. police responding with gas, smoke. no gunshots but rocks from my perch
@spinonspin: protestor in #sohar saw camera and urged me take pic. “just like gaddafi.” had to wonder if he's seen footage from #libya.
@spinonspin: situation not good in sohar. police and protesters throwing rocks at each other. smoke bombs. onlookers edge up and then run away. #oman
@Maithams: They burned a “gas truck” in protest near the police station! Thats when the shooting started #Oman #Sohar
@Mo3athooo: a picture of a protester covered by smoke…you can see the rock on his hand http://twitpic.com/44b6wp #Sohar
@momina95: Uh what's happening to peaceful sohar :/ The Middle East is SERIOSULY transitioning. I hope Omanis don't follow the footsteps of #gadafi.
@momina95: There were protests against low incomes and unemployment here in Sohar, northern city of Oman. Police used teargas @AJEnglish @cnnbrk
@savannahterr88: I'm living in Salalah, Oman, where protests started yesterday. They are peaceful, but they are sort of hopping on the wave of protest…
@spinonspin: need journalists in #sohar to interview people, record scene, confirm citizen accounts. lots of emotion. #oman please send your reporters.
@LV_1: I hope those tweeting from Sohar, Oman will exercise restraint and won't get carried away at the prospect of instant twitter stardom.
@LV_1: Please be careful in tweeting abt events in Sohar, Oman. Those not here, do not understand nuances and may blow it out of proportion.