5,000 illegal Ethiopians deported

Last updated: Monday, November 11, 2013 11:45 PM
An Ethiopian worker talks to members of the security forces as she waits with her countrymen to be repatriated in Manfuhah, southern Riyadh, on Monday. — Reuters


Mansour Al-Shahri
Okaz/Saudi Gazette



RIYADH – As many as 5,000 illegal Ethiopians were deported from Riyadh’s Manfuhah neighborhood within 24 hours after normalcy was restored to the locality following Saturday’s clashes, according to security sources.

Some 76 Ethiopian women took part in the riot in which three people were killed and 68 were injured.

Riyadh police spokesman Brig. Gen. Nasser Al-Qahtani said that about 17,000 illegal Ethiopians surrendered themselves.

Security forces have so far apprehended a total of 1,199 people involved in the clashes, and they included 119 women and 11 children.

The death toll in the clashes rose to three with the death of another Ethiopian. One Saudi and an Ethiopian national succumbed to their injuries during the clashes.

Al-Qahtani said the illegal residents turned out in large numbers, responding to a call from the security authorities so as to facilitate their quick deportation. “Those who surrendered from 9 a.m. on Sunday until Monday afternoon reached 17,000 and they were shifted to detention centers to complete the deportation procedures,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Buraidi, a senior official of Riyadh police, said that five rest houses have been transformed into temporary detention centers for the surrendered illegals. Two of these centers are designated for women.

“The Ethiopian ambassador and charge de affairs are present at the detention centers for necessary formalities with regard to deportation of their nationals. We are treating the illegals humanely and are making food as well as medical and other facilities available to them,” he said.

A number of these people voiced their grief over leaving the Kingdom without fulfilling their dreams. One Ethiopian illegal pleaded a press photographer to take his picture: “Please take my picture because I can never return to the Kingdom.”

According to medical sources, Al-Iman Hospital in Manfuhah received 76 cases following the clashes, of which all left the hospital except four. The condition of two of these people is serious and they are undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit while the other two are in the post-surgical room.

Muhammad Al-Hammadi, spokesman of Riyadh Civil Defense, denied rumors circulated through the social networking sites that a Civil Defense official went missing while engaged in duty after the clashes.

33,000 illegals arrested in one week

The General Directorate of Prisons announced that a total of 33,353 illegal expatriates have been arrested in the first week after the launch of a nationwide crackdown on Nov. 4. Abdullah Al-Harbi, spokesman of the directorate, said that 14,304 illegals have so far been deported.


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