Thread by @pmillerinfo

10 years since Arab Spring protesters were rounded up, shot and killed in Oman, protesters are back on the streets of Sohar today - in a Gulf country where supposedly everyone loves the regime

#صحار

British-trained Omani riot police have already been deployed in large numbers, and some videos show protesters fleeing. Other videos filmed secretly from passing cars, suggesting fear of reprisals for covering protest

Last month @declassifiedUK revealed a secret Privy Council, that advises Oman's ruler, is dominated by British officials - the head of UK army, head of MI6 etc dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-0…

Since then we've been told the economic situation in Oman is much worse than people realise and anger is mounting, but people are scared to speak out against the regime

There are some suggestions Omani police deployed an armoured vehicle to the protest in Sohar. Certainly lots of SUVs where on hand

I understand around 35 Omani protesters were arrested this morning in Sohar, which looks like the majority of them. They demonstrated outside the ministry of labour, where local Arab Spring protests started in 2011. Police moved in v fast

This photo shows one of the protesters who was arrested in Oman this morning

Nearly 24 hours since dozens of peaceful protesters were arrested in Oman, one of their relatives has said they still don't know what's happened to them. Where are they being held? Why were they arrested?

Protests against unemployment in Oman continue for second day. Photo from Sohar, 9.25am local time. Activists stage a sit in, calling for the release of the prisoners who were arrested yesterday.

Within 20 minutes, the protesters in Sohar appear surrounded by Omani police

A video from Sohar this morning appears to show Omani riot police moving protesters onto a coach, less than half an hour after their peaceful sit-in started

Here's another video of the protest in Sohar before Omani police stopped it. There were around 30 people. A lot of the footage was filmed by passing motorists and posted by anonymous accounts, as it's dangerous to film protests openly in Oman.

Another dashcam shot of the protesters in Sohar, Oman, this morning

You might think this was a small protest, why am I bothering to cover it? Well look how seriously Oman's police took it. You can see around 24 police jeeps and coaches in this video - almost one police vehicle per peaceful protester

Oman's army also appear to be on high alert in case protests escalate. Convoys of armoured vehicles have been seen cruising roads around Sohar. This has happened since the Arab Spring but stepped up now.

BREAKING Protests in Oman have spread from Sohar in the north to Salalah -- 800 km to the south -- the capital of Dhofar province, where anger about the economy is running high. Police moved in fast

Protesters in Salalah, Dhofar, appear to have been taken away by Omani police in jeeps and a bus

The convoy of Oman police jeeps and prisoner coach in Salalah was filmed by a passing motorist

Back in Sohar, another group of protesters appear to have avoided arrest earlier this morning, and managed to demonstrate outside the labour ministry, before Omani riot police lined up

This video appears to show the moment protesters walked away from the labour ministry in Sohar, leaving lines of Omani riot police to guard the building

If you listen to this video with the sound on, you can hear the panic in the protesters' voices as they run away from Omani riot police outside the labour ministry in Sohar

This is the most dramatic footage so far from the peaceful demonstrations in Oman this morning. It shows protesters fleeing from police in Sohar

Despite Omani police mass arresting one group of protesters and dispersing another in Sohar this morning, there still appear to be roaming demonstrations ongoing of some kind three hours after the sit-in started

There's still a heavy riot police presence on the streets of Sohar, Oman

Some stones have now been thrown at Omani police jeeps in Sohar

BREAKING Omani police appear to have fired tear gas at protesters in Sohar

New footage from Sohar clearly shows tear gas cannisters have been fired at protesters and passing cars in Oman

More footage of the tear gas Oman's police have just fired at protesters in Sohar

The tear gas seems to be blowing into local shops in Sohar as well as the protesters. I also understand Omani police are specifically going after citizen journalists who are filming the protests

This is one of the clearest videos of the tear gas fired by Omani police and some stones being gathered by protesters

A motorist has filmed what appears to show Omani riot police arresting a protester in Sohar this morning

Some Twitter accounts, who may be real or Sultanic bots, are asking me why I'm covering the protests in Oman?

My answer: I have covered Oman for years. As a British journalist, it's my duty to investigate the UK's massive support for Oman's police and military, as my book shows

A Bloomberg correspondent in Oman is also reporting that police have fired tear gas at protesters

https://twitter.com/Turki_albalushi/status/1396761918040387584

This video shows protesters outside the Mustafa Sultan Exchange on Al Nadha street in Sohar run as Omani police fire tear gas. They are half a mile from the old Globe Roundabout, which was the centre of Arab Spring protests in Sohar

People in Oman are mocking their state controlled media for not covering the protests in Sohar. Apparently an official memo was sent to Omani media - I'm trying to get hold of a copy. Some activists are calling for information minister Dr Abdullah al Harrasi to resign.

Here's another angle on the tear gas that Oman's police fired on Al Nadha street in Sohar, seen from the other side of the road -- opposite Riyadh Restaurant

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has expressed concern at Omani police using tear gas to disperse protesters. The group calls on the Omani authorities to respect the right to demonstrate peacefully, and not to use violent tools to disperse demonstrations @euromedgulf

Oman's army appears to be sending a convoy of armoured vehicles into Sohar, where police have tear gassed protesters

One of the roads running from Sohar to the industrial area of Liwa is being blocked, not clear if by police or protesters - if protesters, may be an attempt to stop Oman army driving in with armoured vehicles

Omani police appear to have beaten and bundled a protester into a jeep in Sohar. If anyone recognises the location (note the minaret) please let me know where the arrest happened

Meanwhile, Oman state TV acknowledges people are looking for jobs but ignores the protests, arrests and tear gas

https://twitter.com/omantvnews/status/1396802149149990913

Oman state TV has now published a couple of pictures of the protest that happened yesterday, which is highly unusual. BBC Arabic and AP/Al Jazeera have covered the protests in more detail. AP said the police response was "massive" aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/24…

Remember the protester who was snatched by Omani police? It looks like he was arrested near the Shell petrol station (red circle) not far from the old Globe Roundabout (black circle). Some of the tear gas was fired by the blue cross. He may have been targetted for filming protest

I understand Omani police have blocked roads around Sohar to prevent people coming in and out of the city. The road block are reinforced by the army's armoured vehicles. There's also a crackdown on video footage of the protests

Another protest seems to have started in Salalah, in the Dhofar province of Oman. A group who tried to demonstrate there this morning were quickly rounded up. This seems to be another group, with police keeping watch from jeeps for now

The protest is Salalah is now on the move...

Despite all the repression we have seen today in Oman, protesters in Salalah are coming out on the streets in solidarity with the activists 800km away in Sohar who have been beated up, tear gassed and arrested by police.

Big turnout right now at the protest in Salalah, the capital of Dhofar province and historically an epicentre of resistance to the Sultanic regime. I understand the group of Dhofaris arrested this morning were taken to Razat prison

It looks like a couple of hundred people are protesting in Salalah this evening - an unusually high turnout for Oman

Lots of energy at the protest in Salalah right now. Not sure when Omani police will move in

The protest that's happening now in Salalah is part of Oman but it's near Yemen, in Dhofar province, which had a long history of resistance to the Sultan in Muscat until the SAS crushed their movement in the 1970s. There are still lots of military bases in and around the city.

Unlike in Sohar, where protesters were almost immediately arrested, demonstrators in Salalah this evening have just marched straight past the main police station without being stopped. A change of tactics? It will be dark soon in Oman. Perhaps police will move in then

As the sun sets in Oman, a second day of protests continue. Many have been arrested, but many more are still out on the streets. The Dhofari youth have come down from the mountains to march in Salalah, representing their grandparents' legacy of resistance

These protests are a huge test for the new Sultan and his British backers. For his first 18 months, he stamped out any dissent before it gathered pace. But now hundreds are on the streets for a second day, despite all the spending on cyber surveillance, riot police + army

It's nearly dark in Oman, but the Dhofari protests in Salalah continue

Reuters and Middle East Eye have also reported on the protests reuters.com/world/middle-e…

Although protesters are now roaming through Salalah at will, earlier today riot police did arrest people in the city, as this video appears to show