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Amman city cleaners to bin orange jumpsuits over IS videos

Amman launched a poll on the city's website and though social media to find a new colour after death of Jordanian pilot
The orange suits will be changed for turquoise ones (Twitter / @hvieux)
By AFP

Jordan's capital Amman said on Tuesday it is replacing the orange jumpsuits worn by its city cleaners because of their similarity to those of hostages murdered in Islamic State videos.

The jumpsuits - believed to be used as a symbol of the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay - have been worn by hostages killed by IS in grisly videos, including a Jordanian pilot burned alive last month. 

Starting from 20 March, Amman's more than 6,000 street cleaners will trade in their orange jumpsuits for turquoise uniforms, city authorities said in a statement.

The decision was taken at the request of city residents and the brother of Maaz al-Kassasbeh, the deceased pilot, because "the colour orange is now associated with the terrorist practices of Daesh," the statement said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Photos released in the Islamic State magazine Dabiq show Mu'ath al-Kassasbeh (Dabiq)

Turquoise was chosen after a poll conducted on the city's website and though social media, the statement said.

IS, which has taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria, has dressed hostages including Western journalists and aid workers, as well as Egyptian Coptic Christians, in orange jumpsuits before killing them in recorded executions.

Jordan is a member of the US-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against IS and intensified its campaign after the killing of Kassasbeh, whose F-16 went down over Syria in December.

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