Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, NGO denounces

2023-08-21 11:28:03

Saudi border guards shot and killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants trying to cross into the wealthy kingdom through Yemen between March 2022 and June 2023, denounced the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report published Monday.

First modification: 08/21/2023 – 11:28

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The accusations point to a major escalation of abuses along the dangerous “Eastern Route” from the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia, where hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians live and work.

“Saudi officials are killing hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers in this remote border area, far from the eyes of the rest of the world,” Nadia Hardman, an HRW researcher, said in a statement.

Some survivors interviewed by the NGO described attacks at close range, with guards asking migrants “what part of the body they preferred to be shot at,” according to the report.

“Spending billions” on sports and entertainment “to improve the Saudi image should not distract us from these horrible crimes,” he added.

A Saudi government source told AFP that “the allegations in the HRW report that Saudi border guards shot Ethiopian migrants crossing the Saudi-Yemen border are baseless and not based on reliable sources.”

The New York-based group has been documenting abuses against Ethiopians in these countries for nearly a decade, but the latest killings appear “widespread and systematic” and could amount to crimes against humanity, he said.

Last year, UN experts reported “troubling allegations” that “cross-border artillery shelling and small arms fire by Saudi security forces killed some 430 migrants” in the south of the kingdom and the north. of Yemen during the first four months of 2022.

Northern Yemen is largely controlled by the Houthis, rebels who have been fought since 2015 by Saudi Arabia, which supports pro-government forces.

The war in Yemen generated what the UN describes as one of the worst humanitarian situations in the world.

‘Scenes of horror’

The HRW report is based on interviews with 38 Ethiopian migrants who tried to cross Saudi Arabia from Yemen, and on satellite images and videos and photos on social media or from other sources.

Interviewees described 28 “explosive weapons incidents” including attacks with mortar shells.

“All those interviewed described scenes of horror: women, men and children scattered across the mountainous landscape, severely injured, dismembered or already dead.”

A 20-year-old woman from Ethiopia’s Oromia region said Saudi border guards fired at a group of migrants they had just released.

“It was as if bullets were raining down on us. When I remember I cry,” he explained.

“I saw a man asking for help, he had lost both legs. He was shouting: ‘Are you leaving me here? Please, don’t leave me.’ We couldn’t help him because we were running to save our lives,” he added.

Human Rights Watch called on Riyadh to “immediately and urgently revoke” any policy of the use of deadly force against migrants and asylum seekers and urged the UN to investigate the alleged killings.