Jordan's king denies motorcade attack

Jordanian youths on Monday attacked King Abdullah II's motorcade with stones as he visited the southern city of Tafileh, a security official said, but the government immediately denied the incident. "Part of the king's motorcade was attacked with stones and empty bottles by a group of men in their 20s and 30s after the king's car entered Tafileh," the official said. "Nobody was hurt and the motorcade changed its route." He added, without elaborating, that police "tackled the infiltrators and made arrests." A palace source confirmed that members of the Royal Guard who accompanied the king were not hurt. But government spokesman Taher Adwan denied the incident had taken place, telling AFP that "the motorcade of his majesty the king was not attacked." The state-run Petra news agency quoted Adwan as saying that the "visit to Tafileh was successful." "All that happened was a quarrel between police and people who wanted to greet the king," who ordered several multi-million-dollar development projects in the city, Adwan said. People in Tafileh, 179 kilometres (111 miles) south of Amman, have been protesting for several weeks to demand reforms and effective measures to fight corruption. They intercepted the motorcade of Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit in May and tried to prevent him from visiting the city. In his first televised address since pro-reform protests started in January in Jordan, the king on Sunday vowed to enhance political and socio-economic reform and promised a new electoral law that would lead to parliamentary government.