Saudi border guards accused of lethal force against Ethiopian migrants, allegations denied by Saudi government
\nLONDON
\nSaudi border guards fired \u201clike rain\u201d on Ethiopian migrants trying to cross into the Gulf kingdom from Yemen, killing hundreds since last year, Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday.
\nThe allegations, described as \u201cunfounded\u201d by a Saudi government source, point to a significant escalation of abuses along the perilous route from the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia, where hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians live and work.
\nOne 20-year-old woman from Ethiopia\u2019s Oromia region, interviewed by HRW, said Saudi border guards opened fire on a group of migrants they had just released from custody.
\n\u201cThey fired on us like rain. When I remember, I cry,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI saw a guy calling for help, he lost both his legs. He was screaming; he was saying, \u2018Are you leaving me here? Please don\u2019t leave me\u2019. We couldn\u2019t help him because we were running for our lives.\u201d
\nHRW researcher Nadia Hardman said \u201cSaudi officials are killing hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers in this remote border area out of view of the rest of the world,\u201d according to a statement.
\n\u201cSpending billions buying up professional golf, football clubs, and major entertainment events to improve the Saudi image should not deflect attention from these horrendous crimes,\u201d she said.
\nA Saudi government source told AFP that the allegations were unreliable.
\n\u201cThe allegations included in the Human Rights Watch report about Saudi border guards shooting Ethiopians while they were crossing the Saudi-Yemeni border are unfounded and not based on reliable sources,\u201d said the source, who requested anonymity.
\nConcerning allegations
\nThe New York-based group has documented abuses against Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia and Yemen for nearly a decade, but the latest killings appear to be \u201cwidespread and systematic\u201d and may amount to crimes against humanity, it said.
\nLast year, United Nations experts reported \u201cconcerning allegations\u201d that \u201ccross-border artillery shelling and small-arms fire by Saudi Arabia security forces killed approximately 430 migrants\u201d in southern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen during the first four months of 2022.
\nIn March that year, repatriation of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia began under an agreement between the two countries. Ethiopia\u2019s foreign ministry said about 100,000 of its citizens were expected to be sent home over several months.
\nThe HRW report said there was no response to letters it sent to Saudi officials.
\nBut the Huthi rebels who control northern Yemen alleged \u201cdeliberate killings of immigrants and Yemenis\u201d by border guards, in response to a letter from HRW.
\nAccording to the rights group, migrants said Huthi forces worked with people smugglers and would \u201cextort\u201d them or keep them in detention centres where they were \u201cabused\u201d until they could pay an \u201cexit fee\u201d.
\nThe Huthis denied working with people smugglers, describing them as \u201ccriminals\u201d.
\nIn 2015, Saudi officials mobilised a military coalition in an effort to stop the advance of the Iran-backed Huthis, who had seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa from the internationally recognised government the previous year.
\nYemen\u2019s war has created what the UN describes as one of the world\u2019s worst humanitarian crises, with millions dependent on aid.
\nMortar fire
\nMany of the abuses described by HRW would have occurred during a truce that took effect in April 2022 and has largely held despite officially expiring last October.
\nThe HRW report draws from interviews with 38 Ethiopian migrants who tried to cross into Saudi Arabia from Yemen, as well as from satellite imagery, videos and photos posted to social media \u201cor gathered from other sources\u201d.
\nInterviewees described 28 \u201cexplosive weapons incidents\u201d including attacks by mortar projectiles, the report said.
\nSome survivors described attacks at close range, with Saudi border guards asking Ethiopians \u201cin which limb of their body they would prefer to be shot\u201d, the report said.
\n\u201cAll interviewees described scenes of horror: women, men, and children strewn across the mountainous landscape severely injured, dismembered, or already dead,\u201d it said.
\nOther accounts described forced rape and beatings with rocks and iron bars.
\nHRW called on Riyadh to end any policy of using lethal force on migrants and asylum seekers, and urged the UN to investigate the alleged killings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saudi border guards accused of lethal force against Ethiopian migrants, allegations denied by Saudi government LONDON Saudi border guards fired \u201clike rain\u201d on Ethiopian migrants trying to cross into the Gulf kingdom from Yemen, killing hundreds since last year, Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday. The allegations, described as \u201cunfounded\u201d by a Saudi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-350794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n