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By Abdul-Jalil Mustafa.
Amman, 2 July:
The Jordanian authorities on Monday have indicated they plan to send home a number of Libyan police . . .[restrict]trainees if an ongoing investigation proves their involvement in a riot that took place on Sunday at the Jordanian International Police Training Centre (JIPTC).
”There was a fight between a group of Libyan trainees and we are currently investigating the incident to determine the cause,” spokesman for the Public Security Department (PSD) Lt. Col. Mohammad Khatib said.
”Those found to have been involved in the fight will be sent back home as stipulated in the centre’s regulations,” he added.
Khatib did not elaborate on the damage resulting from the quarrel, but local media said that the Libyan trainees involved in the fight set fire to utilities at the training centre. Three dormitories are said to have been torched. Several dozen Libyans were reported involved.
It was the second time a brawl has taken place involving Libyan police trainees. A month ago, some of them burnt some utilities of the centre to protest what they called the tough training programme as well as their inability to obtain leave.
About 2,500 Libyan personnel, mostly former revolutionaries, arrived in Jordan in April to to be trained on policing. They represented the first batch of 10,000 Libyans who are scheduled to go on training courses at the JIPTC under an agreement concluded earlier between the Jordanian and Libyan governments.
The JIPTC, which was founded in 2003, so far trained more than 53,000 Iraqi police officers and 8,000 Palestinian police and security personnel.
The issue of the brawl is believed to have been taken up on Sunday during a meeting between the Jordanian Interior Minister Ghaleb Zoabi and a visiting delegation from the Libyan National Transitional Council.
”Jordan places all its expertise and capabilities at the disposal of the Libyan brethren to enable them to build their modern state,” Zoabi said, according to the official Petra news agency.
The Libyan delegation expressed hope that ”such cooperation will continue in order to make benefit from the Jordanian expertise and hold more courses and training programmes for Libyan cadres to enable them to carry out their duties in an efficient manner”.
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