According to a report released by Human Rights Watch on Monday, border guards in Saudi Arabia have been regularly opening fire on African migrants attempting to cross into the kingdom from Yemen. This has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of men, women, and children over a recent 15-month period. The report also reveals that the guards have subjected the migrants to beatings with rocks and bars, forced male migrants to rape women while they watched, and shot detained migrants in their limbs, causing permanent injuries and amputations. The report describes the shooting of migrants as “widespread and systematic,” suggesting that if it were a government policy, it would constitute a crime against humanity. The Saudi government’s Center for International Communication did not respond to inquiries about the findings.
This report sheds light on the dire conditions along one of the world’s most dangerous smuggling routes, a region that is rarely visited by journalists, aid workers, or international observers. It focuses on the experiences of migrants from Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, who are seeking to enter Saudi Arabia, the richest nation in the Arab world and one of the largest oil exporters globally. The report also highlights the increasingly harsh measures taken by Saudi Arabia’s security forces to prevent migrants from entering the country.
Faisal Othman, a migrant from Ethiopia, shared his harrowing experience of trying to cross the border with approximately 200 others last September. He recounted how a projectile exploded near the group, resulting in the deaths of several women who were torn apart by shrapnel. Othman emphasized that destitution compelled people to make the dangerous journey, stating, ”They’re just poor people looking to make a living on bare feet, but they face rockets.”
For years, a significant number of migrants have fled Ethiopia due to poverty, drought, and political repression. Many of them have sought refuge in Djibouti, where smugglers transport them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, which has been ravaged by years of war. In Yemen, the migrants are taken to an area near the Saudi border controlled by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group that seized Sana and a large portion of the country’s northwest in 2014.
In response, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a bombing campaign in 2015 to drive out the Houthis. However, the war has since reached a stalemate and has exacerbated a humanitarian crisis. Human Rights Watch compiled its report based on numerous interviews with migrants who have attempted the journey or their associates, an analysis of hundreds of photos and videos taken by migrants, and an examination of satellite images of the border area.
The report details instances of Saudi border guards firing on groups of migrants using rifles and explosive munitions, believed to be mortars or rockets, resulting in the deaths of large numbers of people. One…
2023-08-20 23:02:41
Source from www.nytimes.com
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