In Jordan’s capital, police separate loyalists, protesters

Pro-reform demonstrators at Ras Al Ein Square in Amman.

(CNN) — Police in Jordan’s capital worked to separate pro- and anti-government demonstrators on Friday and avert the violence that erupted there last week.

As many as 1,000 officers have been deployed in Amman, one of the Arab capitals beset with tension in recent weeks.

So far, there has been no violence at the gatherings, expected after the Muslim Friday prayers

Officers in Amman blocked about three dozen government loyalists as they marched from the Grand Mosque toward Ras Al Ein Square, where opposition members gathered, CNN journalists at the scene said.

A CNN team saw about 200 opposition members at the square. Even though the number could grow, protest organizers said the turnout might be low because of a split in opposition ranks over demands.

The protesters were waving Jordanian flags and chanting slogans for a new constitution and dissolving the parliament.

Last Friday, loyalists and protesters clashed in a hail of rocks and swinging sticks, according to protest organizers and the government.

At least 62 people and 58 security force members were injured, the country’s General Security Directorate said.

One man died of a heart attack in Friday’s protests, officials said.

A couple of days later, Jordan’s King Abdullah II made a call for national unity and reform.

“What matters to us in this stage is that our national unity must not be undermined,” the king said Sunday while visiting the southern region of Petra.

“We are proceeding in earnest with the political reform process, and we have nothing to fear.”