By Muath Freij JORDAN TIMES

AMMAN – Around 200 Syrian protesters tried to storm the Syrian embassy in Amman on Sunday after the embassy detained Syrian citizen Ahmad Shuraiqi as he was visiting to obtain official documents.

Shuraiqi’s father Mustafa said his son, a 22-year-old folk singer who had written songs in support of the Syrian protest movement, had gone to the embassy yesterday morning to renew his passport, for which he had been waiting eight months.

The reason for Shuraiqi’s detention at the embassy was not clear, but in response, some 200 Syrians gathered outside the premises to demand his release and the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador.

The embassy played Syrian patriotic music over its loudspeakers during the protest, in what has become a common response.

Hisham Shami, the spokesperson of the Syrian Revolution-Jordan, said a group of protesters entered the embassy and got into a fight with staff because they were carrying the flag of the Syrian resistance.

“The embassy staff attacked them with batons. Following the incident, two were admitted to the hospital, one was held at the embassy and six people were sent to the Bayader police station,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

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Syrians gather outside their embassy on Sunday (Photo by Muath Freij)