Two protesters shot dead in Oman

Five people were also wounded when security forces opened fire on the demonstrators who tried to storm a police station, the official said.

"Two were killed after being shot with rubber bullets as protesters attempted to storm a police station" in Sohar, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of Muscat, the official said, requesting anonymity.

State news agency ONA confirmed that there had been casualties in Sohar, saying that police and anti-riot forces had clashed with demonstrators.

"Police and anti-riot squads confronted this group of wreckers in a bid to protect people and their property, which caused casualties," it said.

ONA said in another statement that riots began at dawn on Saturday and continued on Sunday, and that several government and private cars were torched.

Protesters also burned the house of Sohar\'s governor and a police station.

The police post targeted by the protesters is near Earth Roundabout, where some 250 demonstrators have been holding a sit-in, witnesses told AFP.

The demonstrators have dubbed the intersection "Reform Roundabout," as they press for change in the Gulf state where Sultan Qaboos has been in power for four decades.

The protesters, who were mostly unemployed, have been demanding jobs, better salaries and measures to curb corruption, the witnesses said.

"These acts committed by a group of wreckers contradict the nature of the Omani society that is known for being moderate and balanced, and they clash with the basic state law and laws that provide for the protection of state" property, ONA said.

For decades the sultanate was an isolated country living on the margins of the modern world, but the 2010 UN Human Development Report released in November said Oman made the most improvement since 1970 out of 135 countries.

Previously, it had been largely spared the deadly turmoil sweeping the Arab world since Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in a popular uprising and the subsequent departure of Hosni Mubarak as Egypt\'s president.

Around 300 Omanis, including women, staged a peaceful rally in central Muscat on February 18 to demand an increase in salaries and political reforms.

But the demonstrators have also emphasised their loyalty to the ruler with placards declaring: "We are always loyal to you, Sultan Qaboos."

That rally was the second of its kind in the sultanate in the past two months, after about 200 demonstrators took to the streets on January 17 in protest against rising prices and corruption.

In an apparent move to appease demonstrators, Qaboos on Saturday announced an increase in the monthly allowance for students at universities and vocational schools.

ONA said he ordered a raise in the allowance of between 25 and 90 Omani rials ($65 to $234) to "achieve further development and... provide a decent living for his people."

He also ordered the creation of a consumer protection bureau, and was looking into opening cooperatives, it said.

Earlier this month, Oman raised the minimum wage for an estimated 150,000 private sector employees from $364 to $520 a month.

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