The disclosure that 36 border guards were killed in Jizan, near the Saudi-Yemeni border, between March 2002 and February this year, and that over the same period some 263 firearms, 1.2 million rounds of ammunition, 46,700 sticks of dynamite and an undisclosed but nonetheless large number of detonators were seized in the area almost beggars belief.
This level of violence cannot be tolerated in a country that prides itself on maintaining such low levels of crime. The fact that the Yemeni border has been notoriously porous in the past is no justification for letting matters continue. The authorities need to crack down hard — not least because the authorities are convinced that explosives used to such devastating effect in the May 12 suicide bomb attacks in Riyadh were smuggled across the Yemeni border. All those sticks of dynamite seized were not for quarrying or mining. They — and the arms and ammunition — were for killing, for intimidation, for violence, either here or elsewhere. The days of turning a blind eye to it, or shrugging one’s shoulders and saying that nothing can be done, are over.
The smuggling has to be wiped out. It is not impossible to end this menace. But it means putting significant extra resources into policing the border. And it is not just a case of more men on the ground. It is painfully clear that what is desperately needed is better intelligence. The border guards need to know in advance what is being smuggled, by whom it is being smuggled and when it is being smuggled. It is no excuse to say that smugglers are using tracks across the undemarcated frontier unknown to border guards. It is the duty of the border guards to know every single potential route in their area. Undemarcated it may be, but there is no earthly reason why every single track in the region should not already be known to the authorities.
All these things can be done. Technology is available. But technology alone is not going to be enough. A lot of hard work needs to be done on the ground. The border guards need to develop a covert intelligence network across the region. They need to infiltrate the smuggler networks. It can be done. It is a question of having the will, the skills and the money.
If anyone asks whether Saudi Arabia can afford it, the answer is that Saudi Arabia cannot afford not to do it. Quite apart from the need to crack down hard on notorious drugs and liquor smuggling in the region, this is a matter of the highest national security. There must be no repeat of the Riyadh bombings. The very fact that those involved in this staggering trade are prepared to kill and kill again to protect their evil trade is proof of their utter depravity. Dealing with these brutal thugs, bringing peace to the border region, must be a top priority.
