Sultanate of Oman Hit by Riots, Roadblocks, Looting

The wave of pro-democracy fervor sweeping the Middle East and North Africa has landed in Oman, a tiny Arab sultanate thought to have been one of the region's most stable, prosperous places.

Omani protesters demanding better jobs and political reforms clashed with the country's vaunted security forces on Sunday. There were reports of up to six people dead in the northern industrial town of Sohar, even though Oman's health minister said only one died.

Oman is a staunch U.S. ally, with strategic importance. It lies next to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical entryway into the Persian Gulf, where about a fifth of the world's oil supply passes through.

Roadblocks, Looting, Riots Hit Sleepy Sultanate of Oman

Karim Sahib, AFP / Getty Images

Masked Omani protesters jump in front of burning vehicles during a demonstration in Sohar, more than 125 miles northwest of the capital Muscat, on Sunday.

Today, hundreds of protesters are blocking roads leading to the country's main port in Sohar, and demonstrations are also spreading to the capital Muscat.

Protesters have refused to stand down after Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, swapped out six of his Cabinet members Saturday and pledged more social benefits for students. On Sunday, he offered to give 50,000 Omanis government jobs -- a move many decried as too little, too late.

"If the government had the possibility of hiring, why was it waiting all this time?" Ammar al-Hanai, who struggles to make ends meet working part time at a real estate agency, told Bloomberg News. Al-Hanai was one of those distributing a list today of protesters' demands: that the sultan name a prime minister, triple salaries and erase private bank debts.

The state-controlled Oman News Agency called the demonstrators "vandals" who destroyed public and private property. "The police and anti-riot groups combated this vandal group in a bid to maintain the safety of the citizens and their properties which resulted in some injuries," the BBC quoted the agency as saying.

Looters trashed a supermarket in Sohar and set fire to its ruins today, after doing the same to a police station and two government buildings a day earlier.

"There is no security. I want to live. It's normal," a 28-year-old man who gave only his first name, Youssef, told Reuters as he ran out of the market with his arms full of groceries.

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Another unemployed man, Ali al-Mazroui, 30, told the same agency: "There are no jobs, there's no freedom of opinion. The people are tired and people want money. People want to end corruption."

It was just in November that the U.N. proclaimed Oman "most improved" among 135 nations, in terms of advances in health, income and education over the past 40 years. Rich in oil and natural gas, Oman is one of the region's most developed countries and the Arab world's oldest independent nation. The sultan has ruled peacefully since taking power from his father in 1970.

But Omanis have few real political freedoms. Universal voting wasn't instituted until 2003, and the country's assembly is only advisory, with no real powers. Despite being relatively well-off compared to Egypt, for example, many Omanis envy the freedoms and luxuries of people in neighboring Dubai.