ABHA, 23 March 2006 — Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday opened the command headquarters of the Border Guards in Asir while announcing the official shifting of the headquarters from Dhahran Al-Janoub to Abha.
Prince Naif honored the kin of the 141 martyrs of the Border Guards who lost their lives in the line of duty apart from 178 distinguished officers and soldiers of various ranks.
To mark the occasion the Border Guards command in Asir organized a function displaying the latest programs of the force including its sea and land operations and monitoring systems.
Asir Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and Deputy Governor Prince Faisal ibn Khaled attended the function. Border Guards Director General Lt. Gen. Talal Al-Angawi was also present at the occasion.
In an interview over telephone with Arab News, Lt. Gen. Al-Angawi categorically denied any person from the Saudi side of the borders slipping into Iraq.
“The administration did not record any statistics during the past year because no infiltration took place across the Saudi border,” the director general said.
Al-Angawi said in the interview that the Border Guards is the first line of defense before all other security forces in the Kingdom.
Al-Angawi explained that besides guarding the borders against smuggling and illegal entries, the guards undertake rescue operations in the sea and protection of country’s ports. He put the number of people who attempted illegal entry into the country at roughly half a million last year while most of them were in the southern province of Jizan. He also said 287 weapons, 100,000 rounds of ammunitions and large quantities of contraband such as narcotic drugs and intoxicants, including five million kilograms of Qat (leaves containing a natural amphetamine) were impounded last year.
The lieutenant general also appreciated the cooperation from the Yemeni authorities following the security agreement with that country in various operations.
