King commends professional performance of Gendarmerie

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, on Tuesday visited the Gendarmerie Department, where he was briefed on the force’s development plans.

His Majesty met with the department's Director General Maj. Gen. Hussein Hawatmeh, and discussed organisational and security matters related to the work of the Gendarmerie, according to a Royal Court statement.

During the visit, Hawatmeh briefed the King on the security strategies and administrative procedures taken by the department to improve the performance of its personnel and the outcome of missions it carries out in cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies, “observing the principles of justice and equality and human rights”.

During the visit, His Majesty checked on the preparedness of Gendarmerie units and formations, strategies and future plans designed to ensure the highest professional and effective performance.

His Majesty praised the professionalism and the advanced level of the Gendarmerie forces, which enabled the force to deal with the various security issues efficiently. 

The King also expressed his confidence and pride in the gendarmerie personnel and their great role in maintaining the security and stability of the Kingdom.

His Majesty’s visit came days after security authorities wrapped up two major cases, one in Maan, ending up with the killing of the suspected murderer of an officer. At dawn Sunday, a Gendarmerie force launched a raid to arrest a 21-year-old man wanted in connection with the shooting death of Warrant Officer Jafar Rababah on August 5, while in his highway patrol vehicle in downtown Maan, some 220km south of Amman. 

One Gendarmerie officer was wounded in the operation, while three were injured during several-day tensions and riots in Ruseifa town to the east of Amman, which ended with arrest of all the five suspects in the killing of a young man in the area.