Officials: Oman Protester Dies After Collision

Officials: Oman Protester Dies After Collision: MUSCAT, Oman – Pro-democracy leaders called Saturday for more street protests after clashes with security forces left at least one person dead and sharply boosted tensions in the strategic Gulf nation.

Alterations on Friday in the northern industrial city of Sohar - where the protests began more than six weeks - suggests that the redistribution of high-level and other concessions by the leaders of Oman fall short of demands for more political freedom demonstrators.

In a sign of concerns over violence, the army imposed a night curfew in Sohar and the units stationed around government offices and other main buildings.

Medical authorities said a man aged 22 died early Saturday of injuries in the clashes and at least four other protesters were injured. The exact cause of death was not immediately known.

Authorities say they used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets in "self defense" after the crowd began to pour the riot police with stones and brandishing knives in my opinion, the prosecutor's office. However, protesters say the police opened fire with live bullets.

medical officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

It 'was the second protest-related deaths in Oman since the riots broke out at the end of February to demand more jobs and greater voice in public political activities are tightly controlled nation. Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said has been replaced by officials from more than a dozen Cabinet and promised other reforms, such as 50,000 new seats official.

But it did not stop the wave of demonstrations, sit-ins and strikes, the pressure for changes that include greater media freedom and undermine the hold system in place on power. Protest leaders called for new demonstrations in the capital Muscat and other cities across the country.

Oman disorder remains low compared to other Arab countries, the rebellions, but is under close surveillance because of its strategic position as the second guardian of the Strait of Hormouz. Oman and Iran share power is a crucial waterway at the mouth, which is the route for 40 percent of the world's tanker traffic.

Oman also plays an important role as a mediator between Iran and the West because of its strong ties to Tehran and Washington. Last year, Oman negotiated a $500,000 bail for the release of American Sarah Shourd from Iranian custody. Shourd and her two U.S. companions — who remain jailed in Tehran — were arrested along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 and charged with espionage.