Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-08
Jordan Rioters
Stone and Burn
u 5. Buildings
Flag Ripped Down
In Protest Against
Buehdod Alliance

Screaming, stone throwing
|mobs stormed through the Jor-I
dan capital Of Amman and the
Jordan section Of Jerusalem to-
day in a revival OF violence
against the Baghdad Pact.
Dispatches from the two cities
gave this picture:
Mobs apparently were aroused
to fury by popular fears that the
resignation Of Premier Ibrahim
Hashem meant the undoing of
the government decision to stay
out of the pro-Western alliance
along Russia's southern borders.
Crowds surging through the
streets burned the American
technical aid headquarters In
Amman. and smashed windows
in the American consulate in
Jordan-administered Jerusalem
and ripped down the Stars and
Stripes.
Troops Kill Ri0ter
Arab Legion troops, finally
called out toward evening. fired
rifles and tear gas into the dem
constructors in both cities, killing
one Of the rioters.
Censorship apparently was i'm
posed in Jordan. The government
radio. after a long silence. re-
ferred only to "subversive ele-
lments provoking trouble"
Earlier dispatches. however.
gave this account:
Demonstrators went into &C
ton protesting the banning yes
terday Of q mass meeting Of the
extreme leftist peoples front.
Towns throughout Jordan were
hit by general strikes.
About 1000 rioters attacked
the American consulate in the
Jordan side OF Jerusalem. smash
ing windows and tearing down
the flag. One rioter was killed
when troops fred upon and dis
persed the crowd. William Cole.
United States consul general in
Jerusalem. was believed to have
been in the consulate at the
time.
Building Set Afire
Shouting slogans against the
government and the Baghdad
Pact. another mob Of about 800
stormed into the American tech
nical aid building in Amman and
set it afire. They smashed and
burned a government truck and
then set ablaze a fire truck sent
to extinguish the blaze.
Rampaging unchecked through
the streets, the demonstrators
stoned spectators, looted houses
and smashed windows and doors
with stones and clubs. Arab
Legion troops finally moved into
action at $50 pm. but not until
the streets had been Uttered
with stones and glass and the
dusk lighted by blazing build
ings.
Among the buildings stoned
was the Philadelphia Hotel. larg-
est In Amman. Windows were
broken at the hotel, the govern
ment's forestry department, the
Offices of the United Nations
Works Agency, and several Brit
ish establishments, including a !
bank.
Quiet did not return until
early evening. when Arab Legion
troops held control and the gov
eminent clamped on a curfew. |
In Jerico troops cordoned off
Palestine Arab refugee camps to
keep the demonstrations from
spreading.
The outbreak was an after
math Of six days OF disturbances
which swept Jordan last month";
when 1t was disclosed the gov
eminent of Premier Said Ell
Mutt planned to take Jordan
into the five-power Baghdad
Pact of Britain, Iran. Iraq. PAX
istan and Turkey on promise
of more British economic and
military aid.
Sixteen persons were estimated
to have been killed and about
100 injured in the disorders
during which the American,
French and Turkish consulates
Sec RIOTS, Page "A