JEDDAH, 11 April 2004 — Saudi Arabia said yesterday it detained 51,811 people trying to cross its borders illegally in a single month.
Lt. Gen. Talal Al-Angawi, director general of the border guards, said the majority (47,599 people) was arrested in the southern Jizan province, on the long porous border with Yemen, while 702 were held at the country’s northern border with Iraq.
The southern Asir and Najran regions also saw a considerable number of arrests — 2,405 and 793. As many as 255 infiltrators were held in the Eastern Province, 53 in the Makkah region and four in the Al-Jouf region. Angawi urged Saudis and expatriates to inform the border guards about infiltrators and not to shelter them. “It’s your duty to strengthen the Kingdom’s security,” he added.
The Kingdom is battling a wave of militant violence linked to Al-Qaeda and believes that it is fueled by arms smuggled across its mountain and desert borders.
Saudi Arabia and Yemen recently agreed to step up security arrangements on their 1,800 km border to prevent cross-border smuggling of weapons and explosives.
A joint statement after a recent visit of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to Riyadh said the two countries would jointly patrol the border.
