Two people were killed Sunday during protests in Oman. Omani police fired tear gas on Sunday at stone-throwing demonstrators in the industrial city of Sohar. The proteters were demanding political reforms, witnesses said.
According to Reuters, police used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters who gathered in a main square.
Earlier, the country's leader, Sultan Qaboos bin Said reshuffled his cabinet, changing six ministers a week after an earlier protest in the capital Muscat calling for political reform. The Omani ruler also increased stipends for university students by between $65 and $234 a month in a bid to "achieve further development and provide a decent living."
Witnesses said some 1,000 protesters had gathered for a second straight day in Sohar on Sunday before clashes erupted. Protests were also taking place in the southern town of Salalah where demonstrators have been camped out since Friday near the office of a provincial governor.
Witnesses said at least eight people had been wounded in the clashes. Roadblocks had been set up on a main road between Sohar and Muscat.
