Saudi–Yemen barrier
The Saudi–Yemen barrier (
Construction of the barrier began in September 2003 in order to counter infiltrations and terrorism.[4] When construction of the 75-kilometer (47 mi) barrier by the Saudis began, the Yemeni government strongly objected, stating that it violated a border treaty signed in 2000.[5] Thus, Saudi Arabia agreed to stop construction in February 2004.
History
In 2000, after 65 years or so of sporadic conflict, Yemen and Saudi Arabia finally agreed on border demarcations by signing the 2000 Jeddah border treaty.[2][6]
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, who has also been deputy prime minister and minister of defence, has long managed the Yemen portfolio. For decades, he paid a network of Yemeni contacts and informants, which generated resentment on the Yemeni side about Saudi "meddling". Sultan also headed the small Special Office for Yemen Affairs, which remained the main locus of Saudi Arabia's Yemen policy and patronage throughout the 1980s and 1990s, a role that weakened beginning in 2000. Its annual budget was believed to be $3.5 billion per year until the Treaty of Jeddah was signed in 2000. But even as late as early 2011, the "number of people thought to be receiving subsidies still remained in the thousands, but in April recipients were notified that payments were being terminated".[7] The tribal elites Saudi Arabia supports to weaken Yemen central government[8] are behind the drug trade.[9][10] Saudi Arabia overreached, according to Yemen, "by accusing Yemeni smugglers of fomenting terrorism" because "homegrown Saudi terrorists—with or without weapons obtained from across the border—cannot be blamed on Yemen".[11]
In February 2004, after extensive
In January 2008, Saudi authorities commenced construction of a wall along the border in the
During the
Ethiopian Migrants incidents
Over 90 percent of migrants on the 'Eastern Route' to Saudi Arabia are Ethiopians seeking refuge from conflict, famine, and persecution. This treacherous journey begins in the Horn of Africa, spans the Gulf of Aden, traverses war-torn Yemen, and eventually winds its way through the rugged terrain of Saudi Arabia's Jizan province.[17]
Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has engaged in the arbitrary detention and involuntary repatriation of a substantial number of Ethiopian migrants who were caught crossing the Saudi-Yemen border. These actions have exposed migrants to severe and degrading conditions, leading to the emergence of serious and enduring physical and psychological health issues among those affected.[18] As of 2022, at least 30,000 Ethiopian migrants who come illegally through Saudi-Yemen barrier, remain detained in Saudi Arabia solely for lack of legal residency and continue to suffer in overcrowded detention centres, facing the looming threat of experiencing a similar ordeal. Amnesty International utilized satellite verification to corroborate the existence and pinpoint the exact locations of the Al-Kharj and Al-Shumaisi detention centers which are located in Riyadh and Jeddah respectively. Additionally, geo-verified videos sourced from within these facilities provided concrete evidence, shedding light on the severe and distressing conditions prevailing within.[19]
Amnesty International's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, strongly condemned the deprivation of human rights solely based on the absence of legal documents. She emphasized that lacking legal documentation should not be used as a justification for such human rights violations.[20]
In June 2023, the International Organization for Migration Missing Migrant Project issued its own estimate of fatalities on the Saudi border which reports 795 or more Ethiopians lost their lives on the route between Saudi Arabia and Yemen between March 2022 to June 2023.[21][22] Many Ethiopian migrants who managed to flee the border said,"Saudi Border Guards fired on us like rain"[23]
Government stances
Saudi Arabian concerns
In the early 1990s
Saudi Arabia claimed the barrier was necessary to protect from
In 2008, after starting a new section of barrier in
Yemeni opposition
Opponents claim the barrier severely restricts the local population—in particular in their ability to cross the border to seek access work. The Yemeni government initially opposed the construction because it violated the
Yemenis have complained that Saudi Arabia's support for various tribal and political figures in Yemen seemed aimed at keeping their southern neighbor divided and weak. Saudi Arabia reportedly spent billions of dollars a year to weaken Yemen's central rule and its republican government.
Comparisons
To Israeli West Bank barrier
In February 2004 The Guardian reported that Yemeni opposition newspapers compared the barrier to the Israeli West Bank barrier,[2] while The Independent wrote, "Saudi Arabia, one of the most vocal critics in the Arab world of Israel's 'security fence' in the West Bank, is quietly emulating the Israeli example by erecting a barrier along its porous border with Yemen".[3]
The head of Saudi Arabia's border guard dismissed the comparison, stating, "The barrier of pipes and concrete could in no way be called a separation fence. What is being constructed inside our borders with Yemen is a sort of screen...which aims to prevent infiltration and smuggling".[2] However, only 10% of the Israeli barrier is concrete wall, with the remaining 90% chain-link fence.[28]
See also
- Border barrier
- Saudi-Iraq barrier
References
- CIA. 2 November 2022. Archivedfrom the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Whitaker, Brian (February 17, 2004). "Saudi security barrier stirs anger in Yemen". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
- ^ a b c Bradley, John (February 11, 2004). "Saudi Arabia enrages Yemen with fence". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
- ISBN 978-0313380761.
- ^ "Yemen says Saudis will stop fence". BBC. February 18, 2004. Archived from the original on February 18, 2004. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
- S2CID 144466051.
- ^ Ginny Hill and Gerd Nonneman (May 2011), "Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States: Elite Politics, Street Protests and Regional Diplomacy" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Programme Briefing Paper, p. 9
- ^ Bernard Haykel, "Saudi Arabia's Yemen Dilemma: How to Manage an Unruly Client State" Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine, Foreign Affairs, June 14, 2011; ungated version Archived 2017-06-29 at the Wayback Machine at CNN
- ISBN 9780231070447.
- ^ Michael Horton, "Yemen's Dangerous Addiction to Qat" Archived 2016-04-12 at the Wayback Machine, The JamesTown Foundation
- ^ "The World's Most Complex Borders: Saudi Arabia/Yemen" Archived 2014-12-31 at the Wayback Machine, PBS
- ^ "Riyadh halts work on border barrier after Sanaa agrees to joint patrols". AFP. February 19, 2004.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Sieff, Martin (October 4, 2006). "Fencing In Iraq Is Always A Solution". United Press International. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
- ^ Dyer, Gwynne (February 13, 2007). "Why Walls Are Going Up All Over the World?". Arab News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
- ^ a b al-Kibsi, Mohammed. "Saudi authorities erect barriers on Yemeni border" Archived 2023-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, Yemen Observer, January 12, 2008
- ^ "Saudi-led airstrikes drive Houthis from Aden". Al Jazeera. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- from the original on 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ Tewodros, Rebecca (2022-12-17). "Saudi Raid On Ethiopian Migrants Included Pregnant Women And Children | The Reporter | Latest Ethiopian News Today". www.thereporterethiopia.com. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia: thousands of Ethiopian migrants held in 'inhuman' conditions - new report". www.amnesty.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia: Ethiopian migrants forcibly returned after detention in abhorrent conditions". Amnesty International. 2022-12-16. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "Deaths on Migration Routes in MENA Highest since 2017: IOM 2022 Data Reveals". International Organization for Migration. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ Mills, Andrew; Negeri, Tiksa; Pavicic, Milan (2023-08-22). "Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, HRW says". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ ""They Fired on Us Like Rain": Saudi Arabian Mass Killings of Ethiopian Migrants at the Yemen-Saudi Border [EN/AR] - Saudi Arabia | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b Robert F. Worth (October 26, 2010). "Saudi Border With Yemen Is Still Inviting for Al Qaeda". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- ^ "The unquenchable fire". The Economist. September 28, 2013. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- ^ Maria Abi-Habib; Hakim Almasmari (January 20, 2015). "Uprising in Yemen Fans U.S. Concerns". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ Bidwell, Robin, The Two Yemens, London: Longman and Westview Press, 1983, pp. 243-244
- ^ "Response To Common Inaccuracy: West Bank Security Barrier". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2020-05-21.