"Omani security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters demanding political reforms, killing at least one person in the strategic Persian Gulf country. The clashes marked a significant escalation in two days of protests in Oman and showed the unrest is spreading farther across the region."
"Protesters set a supermarket ablaze and rallied at two places in the seaside town of Sohar yesterday in a third straight day of unrest, including deadly clashes in the strategic Gulf nation.
Security forces sealed off main roads to Sohar, about 120 miles northwest of the capital of Muscat, in an attempt to isolate the protesters and keep crowds from swelling.
Witnesses said several hundred protesters — mostly young men — were rallying in the town’s main square, demanding higher salaries, jobs for unemployed youth, and the dismissal of some government ministers.
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"Troops were deployed north of the capital, Muscat, and near the border with the United Arab Emirates, following three days of antigovernment protests, a government official said.
Oman, ruled by a powerful family dynasty, is the latest Arab nation to be swept up in a wave of regional unrest....
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"Oman’s ruler granted lawmaking powers to officials outside the royal family in the boldest reforms yet aimed at quelling protests for jobs and a greater public role in politics.
The decree by Sultan Qaboos bin Said reflects the scramble to appease demonstrators and head off possible wider unrest in the strategically important nation, which shares control of the waterway that carries 40 percent of the world’s oil tanker traffic.
And a U.S. ally for now.
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