"The most important thing now is our national unity, which must not be touched"

Jordan's King Abdullah II has called for national unity three days after clashes between protesters and government supporters led to the death of one man and left 160 people injured.

"The most important thing now is our national unity, which must not be touched," the king told tribal leaders on Sunday in the southern town of Petra. "We need to stay away from any behavior or attitude that would affect our unity."

Jordan "is going ahead with political and economic reforms, strongly and enthusiastically. There is nothing that we fear," the state-run Petra news agency quoted the king as saying. "We understand the difficult circumstances and challenges in the country and the region, but we are optimistic about the future that we are trying to build."

The king's comments came as Jordanians mourned the death of 55-year-old Khairi Saad who martyred in the unrest that has been rocking the country for the past three months and much of the Arab world.

The man was killed as police broke up a pro-reform protest camp set up near the interior ministry in the capital, Amman, after 200 government supporters threw stones at 2,000 young demonstrators. The government claimed Saad as a supporter, while the opposition and his brother, Saeed Saad, disputed that, saying his brother was "brutally beaten" by police.

Parliament on Sunday rejected calls to limit the king's powers to pave the way for a constitutional monarchy.