Riyadh: As per a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW), a global NGO based in New York, outlines that Saudi border forces are implicated in the deaths of numerous Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers attempting to traverse the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023. HRW maintains that Saudi forces utilised explosive weaponry and engaged in close-range shooting, including of women and children, in a manner that the report describes as “widespread and systematic.”
HRW’s findings are rooted in extensive research, encompassing interviews with 42 Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers. Over 350 videos and photographs shared on social media platforms, as well as satellite imagery, were meticulously scrutinised and analysed to compose the comprehensive report.
For decades, Ethiopian migrants have navigated the perilous ‘Eastern Route’ or ‘Yemeni Route’ to reach Saudi Arabia. This route, spanning from the Horn of Africa across the Gulf of Aden through Yemen into Saudi Arabia, is also frequented by migrants from Eritrea, Somalia, and other East African nations. The path, notorious for its hazards, has witnessed an increase in migrants, including women and girls, propelled by ongoing armed conflicts in their home countries.
In this treacherous journey, smugglers and traffickers often exploit and assault asylum seekers and migrants, extorting them along the way. The route, involving overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels with limited provisions, terminates in Yemen. From there, smugglers transport migrants to Saada governorate, under the control of the Houthi armed group near the Saudi Arabian border. Houthi forces, in conjunction with smugglers, oversee camps housing tens of thousands of migrants who await entry into Saudi Arabia. Extortion of bribes by Houthi forces, coupled with transfer to alleged detention centres where people are subjected to abuse until they can afford an exit fee, are commonplace occurrences.
The HRW report says that the incidents indicate an intentional escalation in the frequency and severity of targeted killings. This transformation signifies a shift from sporadic shootings and mass detentions to systematic and widespread killings. HRW contends that such killings could potentially qualify as crimes against humanity if they adhere to both the criteria of being widespread and systematic and if they align with a state policy of deliberate civilian population extermination.
Even, survivors frequently find themselves detained by Saudi border guards, often for months, within Saudi detention facilities. HRW’s investigation found that over ten people who were interviewed asserted that 11 border crossing attempts involving more than 1,200 migrants had led to at least 655 deaths. Many interviewees were too preoccupied with fleeing or traumatised to accurately estimate the toll. Survivors disclosed disturbing details of Saudi border guards inquiring which limb they preferred to be shot in before proceeding to shoot them at close range.
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