RIYADH, 1 December 2003 — The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised British nationals against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia.
The embassy continues to function normally despite posting the security alert on its website in the last two days.
According to Ken Neill, consul at the British Embassy, “the discovery on Nov. 25 by the Saudi authorities of a terrorist plot showed the terrorist threat across Saudi Arabia remains high.
“As well as continuing to advise against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia, the travel advisory warns that terrorists may be in the final phases of planning attacks in the Kingdom,” he added.
A British expatriate who only gave his name as Johnson told Arab News he was not unduly concerned over security alerts “despite isolated acts of terrorism. I tend to regard them more as an aberration than the norm.”
But the British consul thinks otherwise. “The travel advisory reflects our assessment that the threat from terrorism remains particularly serious. If you choose to stay in Saudi Arabia, you should take necessary steps to protect your safety. You should have confidence in your individual security arrangements and follow our advice on personal and vehicle security.”
The advisory also urges Britons to be vigilant, “particularly in public places frequented by foreigners, such as hotels, restaurants and shopping malls. Visitors to military buildings and bases should take special care.”
Inquiries with some major supermarkets in the capital show that Western expatriates have changed their shopping pattern. Instead of in the evening, they now shop in the morning when there are fewer people around.
The security alert comes in the wake of the May 12 and Nov. 8 bombings in the capital that left scores dead and injured. On Nov. 25 Saudi security forces raided a terrorist hideout and discovered a car rigged with more than a ton of explosives after they shot dead two occupants of a vehicle, one of whom tried to shoot them from the boot.
Following the surge in extremist violence, security forces have remained in a state of high alert, setting up checkpoints and deploying armored vehicles in the Diplomatic Quarter and around compounds where mostly Western expatriates stay.
