Some of the illegal occupants attack them fiercely, often causing serious injury or death.
A recent police report said a municipal official was killed when a squatter shot him dead after he was told to leave a municipality-owned plot of land.
Another police report revealed another employee who was carrying out an eviction in Al-Sharae district lost the sight in one of his eyes after a squatter pelted stones at him.
In another incident, a furious squatter followed an official to his office and attacked him.
In yet another case, an undersecretary at Al-Shawqiah municipality was shot at his office by a Saudi squatter who had been occupying a plot of government land in the area after an eviction was ordered there. The victim was seriously injured.
Many of the municipal officials who carry out these types of jobs are demanding extra money and benefits to compensate for the risks they are exposed to.
One of them, Ahmad Al-Arrabi from Al-Maabada municipality in Makkah, said there were several occasions when his life was put in danger as he tried to evict squatters.
He recalled a recent incident when he and four others went to clear a plot in Al-Haj Street.
"The squatter had put a fence around the plot he had illegally taken over and put his sheep inside it,” he said.
“When we went there the man kept us waiting for a long time before driving out in his jeep and aiming straight for us. We ran for our lives. However, when we later returned with police protection, the man started throwing stones at us. I was hit just below my head."
Chairman of Al-Maabada municipality Ahmad Munshi said up to three guards usually accompany municipal officials, but even they are not effective against a large group of people attacking them with bricks and bats. He added that police would only send officers when it was convenient for them.
He also said corrupt municipal officials were to blame. He claimed some officials took bribes from squatters and secretly gave them alerts when they were about to be evicted.
"This gives squatters the opportunity to plan an attack on officials and obstruct them. Corrupt employees have already been fired over this," he said.
Another municipality official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said most squatters who attacked municipal officials often had their cases settled in a peaceful manner and were allowed to get off scot-free.
"Only a more deterring punishment to those who attack officials will end this kind of violence," he said.
