A Jordanian man has shot and killed his three sisters on the first day of Eid al-Adha over a family dispute, the country’s official media agency reported.
According to Petra News Agency, the directorate of public security in Jordan issued a statement saying: “A young man fired live bullets at his sisters on Friday, following differences between them.”
The incident took place in the province of Balqa, northwest of the capital, Amman.
The sisters were hospitalised following the shooting but died from their wounds shortly after, the statement added.
An investigation has been opened into the incident and the search for the brother has begun, officials said.
The shooting comes two weeks after a young woman, known only as Ahlam, was killed by her father in Balqa.
According to the witnesses, Ahlam, who local media reported as having faced domestic abuse for years, ran out of her home with blood all over her body, screaming for help.
Her father then allegedly chased her with a brick and beat her until she died. Witnesses said he smoked a cigarette and drank tea next to her corpse afterwards.
Local media said the father was charged for the murder after appearing before the Grand Criminal Court in Amman.
The hashtag #Ahlam’s _ Screams in Arabic trended across Jordan’s social media platforms, where users expressed anger and disgust at the crime.
Many drew parallels to the killing of Israa Gharib, who was killed by her relatives last year in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem after posting a picture of herself with her fiance.
Under Jordan’s penal code, men who commit so-called honour killings while in “a fit of rage” can be exonerated.❑
AL JAZEERA
