More Jordanians Riot Over Bread

AMMAN, Jordan — Riots over bread prices spread Saturday from the south of Jordan to the teeming center of Amman, the capital, despite King Hussein’s threat of an “iron fist” response.

The king was shown on television telling soldiers in the south that the country faced a choice of order or anarchy. But clashes continued in the south, and new ones erupted in Amman.

Residents in the Hay al Tafailah area fired shots at police who used tear gas to try to disperse them, witnesses said.

The clashes followed two days of bread riots in southern Jordan, mainly in the medieval fortress city of Al Karak.

The protests in Amman flared shortly before midnight. Clashes continued through the night between security forces and protesters darting from alleys.

Earlier, the king inspected the riot-torn south after dissolving the summer session of parliament’s lower house and vowing to crush protests against a doubling of bread prices with an “iron fist.”