Amman — An unspecified number of Libyans, arrested on charges of rioting and arson, appeared before Jordanian interrogators Thursday in a probe ordered by Acting Public Security Director General Mohammad Rakkad, according to an official statement. Some 67 people were injured on Wednesday in fighting involving a group of Libyans who had finished their police training in Jordan three days ago. They were reportedly protesting the delay in flying them home, itself caused by the failure of Libyan Airlines aircraft to arrive in Jordan on schedule. The wounded were 58 Jordanian policemen, a member of the Civil Defense fire fighting squad and eight Libyan police trainees, a PSD statement said. The Libyan trainees set afire facilities and at a police sports center and burnt public and private property before they were brought under control by Jordanian security forces. Some of the Libyan police trainees fled the scene to the adjacent residential areas and were chased and apprehended by the Jordanian authorities. The statement did not give the number of arrested Libyans, but official sources put their number at 10 and said they were responsible for starting the rioting. They appeared before the investigation panel in the presence of the Libyan ambassador Mohammad Al-Barghathi who apologized to the Jordanian government, saying ”the Libyan state, as represented by its embassy, bears total responsibility for what happened”, according to the PSD statement. — www.libyaherald.com
