RIYADH, 20 February 2006 — Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki has said that the 29 decomposed bodies discovered in Renya, a desert region 870 km south of Riyadh, were probably not crime-related.
Turki said the bodies might be of people who lost their way in the desert and died of hunger or thirst. He said security agents were still investigating.
“The ministry will issue a statement after completing the investigation and conducting forensic tests on the bodies,” Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted Turki as saying.
The bodies have been found over the past seven months with their faces covered in relative proximity of one another. Tire tracks were found near some of the bodies, indicating that they may have been dumped.
People in the area, which has a population of some 80,000, suspect crime behind the deaths and they are urging police to move fast to solve the mystery.
