Clashes in Saudi Arabia leave 14 wounded
The Saudi Arabian government blamed an unnamed foreign power – normally a code word for Iran – for trying to stoke trouble in the heavily Shia-populated area around the city of al-Qatif after 14 people were injured in clashes on Monday.
The accusation came from the interior ministry as it claimed on Tuesday that 11 security personnel were wounded when security forces clashed with protesters in the oil-rich eastern province, in an apparent fresh outbreak of protests by the country’s Shia Muslim minority.
“A group of instigators inspired by a foreign country gathered in al-Awwamiya village near Qatif at 9pm on Monday and tried to undermine security,” an interior ministry official was quoted as saying in a statement to the Saudi press agency.
The claim of foreign meddling highlights the potential for unrest in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, even though it has so far largely avoided the protests sweeping the Arab world.
Rioters in the town of al-Awwamiya fired machine guns and hurled Molotov cocktails at members of the security force on Monday night, the Saudi press agency said. The rioters “need to clearly decided if their loyalty is to their homeland or to that state and its religious authorities”, the interior ministry added.
Mohamed al-Saeed, a Qatif resident, accused the Saudi state of ruthlessly suppressing the protest. He said in an email: “For the third day our families in Awwamiya town and Qatif live under brutal crackdown by Saudi forces, just because they went out and [asked] for our human rights and freedom.”
Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the population, often claims victimisation by a government they say questions their loyalty to the state and is suspicious of their religious affiliation with Iran.
Inspired by the Arab uprisings across the Middle East, Shia protesters have staged several rallies in the Qatif area this year, demanding the release of Shia prisoners and the withdrawal of Saudi forces sent to Bahrain to help quell protests by members of the Shia majority against the Sunni royal family.
Qatif is close to some of the most important installations in the Saudi oil system. The city is close to Abqaiq processing centre, which handles up to 7m barrels a day of crude oil, or about 70 per cent of the country’s production. Defences surrounding the centre were attacked in 2006 by al-Qaeda affiliates.
Saudi Arabia has openly accused Iran several times this year of meddling in the affairs of Arab countries and fomenting instability. In April, Prince Khalid bin Sultan, assistant minister of defence and aviation, used a visit to the eastern province to criticise Iran’s “rhetoric” and urge his troops to be ready for all “possibilities”.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is grappling with problems including demands for more political and social freedoms and a creaking infrastructure increasingly ill-suited to cope with its growing population.
King Abdullah’s announcement last month that Saudi women would be given the right to vote and to sit in the consultative Shura council was welcomed by some liberals but critics say reforms are still too slow.
FT
The accusation came from the interior ministry as it claimed on Tuesday that 11 security personnel were wounded when security forces clashed with protesters in the oil-rich eastern province, in an apparent fresh outbreak of protests by the country’s Shia Muslim minority.
“A group of instigators inspired by a foreign country gathered in al-Awwamiya village near Qatif at 9pm on Monday and tried to undermine security,” an interior ministry official was quoted as saying in a statement to the Saudi press agency.
The claim of foreign meddling highlights the potential for unrest in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, even though it has so far largely avoided the protests sweeping the Arab world.
Rioters in the town of al-Awwamiya fired machine guns and hurled Molotov cocktails at members of the security force on Monday night, the Saudi press agency said. The rioters “need to clearly decided if their loyalty is to their homeland or to that state and its religious authorities”, the interior ministry added.
Mohamed al-Saeed, a Qatif resident, accused the Saudi state of ruthlessly suppressing the protest. He said in an email: “For the third day our families in Awwamiya town and Qatif live under brutal crackdown by Saudi forces, just because they went out and [asked] for our human rights and freedom.”
Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the population, often claims victimisation by a government they say questions their loyalty to the state and is suspicious of their religious affiliation with Iran.
Inspired by the Arab uprisings across the Middle East, Shia protesters have staged several rallies in the Qatif area this year, demanding the release of Shia prisoners and the withdrawal of Saudi forces sent to Bahrain to help quell protests by members of the Shia majority against the Sunni royal family.
Qatif is close to some of the most important installations in the Saudi oil system. The city is close to Abqaiq processing centre, which handles up to 7m barrels a day of crude oil, or about 70 per cent of the country’s production. Defences surrounding the centre were attacked in 2006 by al-Qaeda affiliates.
Saudi Arabia has openly accused Iran several times this year of meddling in the affairs of Arab countries and fomenting instability. In April, Prince Khalid bin Sultan, assistant minister of defence and aviation, used a visit to the eastern province to criticise Iran’s “rhetoric” and urge his troops to be ready for all “possibilities”.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is grappling with problems including demands for more political and social freedoms and a creaking infrastructure increasingly ill-suited to cope with its growing population.
King Abdullah’s announcement last month that Saudi women would be given the right to vote and to sit in the consultative Shura council was welcomed by some liberals but critics say reforms are still too slow.
FT
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