JEDDAH, 21 February 2004 — Saudi Arabia has not halted the construction of a security fence on its border with Yemen aimed at preventing infiltration and arms smuggling, but the project will be completed in cooperation with Sanaa, Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed has said.
The minister was commenting on reports that the Kingdom agreed to dismantle the fence after Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s recent visit to Riyadh. “First of all, it must be emphasized that the fence is being constructed within the Kingdom’s territory ... it is not something new as the work started more than a year ago,” he said.
Prince Ahmed said the Kingdom has already completed the first phase of the project in key areas along the border. “What has been discussed by experts in both countries is a joint effort to continue the work for border security, and that is what we are going to do in the near future,” he said.
He denied foreign news agency reports that the Kingdom was constructing a wall on the Yemen border. “This is totally wrong. What we have done is to build barriers to prevent infiltrators and smugglers. ... We have already constructed similar barriers on our borders with Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar. This helps border guards on both sides control the situation,” Okaz Arabic daily quoted the minister as saying.
He said the two countries have decided to strengthen their border security as part of efforts to combat terrorism. According to a joint statement after Saleh’s visit, the two countries will jointly patrol the 1,800-km border, establish observation posts for joint surveillance of the porous areas.
Prince Ahmed also downplayed Britain’s warnings of imminent terrorism attacks in the Kingdom and said neither Britons nor other foreign residents in the country were particularly targeted.
Asked about last week’s warning to Riyadh residents that a car laden with explosives and registered to a wanted suspect could be used in an attack, Prince Ahmed said his ministry chose to make the threat public so that everyone would be on the alert and participate in safeguarding security by informing authorities if they saw the vehicle.
He said the hunt for the GMC Suburban was still continuing and once it was found, an announcement would be made immediately.
Referring to a recent shootout in Riyadh’s Aziziya neighborhood, he said it could have been part of a routine operation to track down individuals involved in crimes other than terrorism. “Such operations are carried out not only for terrorists but also for other wanted criminals,” he said.
