SOHAR, Oman - February 28, 2011 - Protesters set a supermarket ablaze and rallied at two places in this seaside town on Monday in a third consecutive day of unrest that has included 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.
Omar al-Abri, an official at the state-run Oman News Agency, said one person was confirmed dead Sunday after police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of demonstrators in Sohar.
Witnesses said a supermarket was set on fire Monday and several hundred protesters - mostly young men - were rallying in the town's main roundabout, demanding higher salaries, jobs for unemployed youth and the dismissal of some government ministers.
By late afternoon, protests spread to Oman's second largest port in Sohar. Witnesses said about 500 protesters blocked trucks from entering the port, about 8 miles away from protest's focal point at the roundabout.
Police did not respond to Monday's protests, witnesses said.
State media reported Sohar's civilian guards, including members of women's associations, repelled protesters' attempts to set fire to a health center and several commercial sites.
Oman, ruled by a powerful family dynasty, marks the latest flashpoint in the Arab world's challenges to authority and suggests that demonstrations could widen in the Gulf with protest rallies planned next month in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Ed. Note: This is another one of these stories based primarily on reports from unnamed witnesses. It might be true; but then again, it might not be true, either.
