Close to 400 people called out for an end to the war and the occupation of the Palestinian West Bank.

The rowdy crowd also praised Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, as well as demonizing Arab nations they believed were helping the “evil empire”.

Although the crowds were larger and more vocal this week, few if any were arrested. Police were there in droves in case things turned violent, and they completely blocked roads leading up to the Israeli Embassy.

The protesters took to the streets of the city center carrying Iraqi flags and portraits of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, one resident told Arab News.

“They torched US, British and Israeli flags as well as an effigy representing US President George W. Bush, calling for his death and describing him as a dog,” the resident added.

The protesters warned British Prime Minister Tony Blair: “Iraq will destroy you completely”.

And in an unprecedented gesture they paid tribute to Syrian President Bashar Assad for his steadfast rejection of the war on Iraq, urging him “to enter the battle” against the US and British armies.

Some 10,000 residents also took part in a protest in the city of Maan after clerics across the town called on Muslims “to launch a jihad against Americans wherever they are” in their weekly sermons.

Preachers also urged the Jordanian authorities to expel US troops deployed in Jordan, where the government has acknowledged the presence of “hundreds” of soldiers manning Patriot anti-missile batteries.

Jordanian security forces were not deployed in the city center in an apparent effort to prevent any clashes with the demonstrators but took positions around the town, residents said.

However, police had to fire a few tear gas grenades to disperse a small group of protesters who tried to march on the main police station after shots rang out in the city center, a resident said.

“Another group of residents immediately intervened and convinced the protesters to backtrack and avert any clashes with the police,” one resident told Arab News.