Based in a study by a well-known rights organization, Riyadh has carried out a widespread and violent slaughter of African migrants, mostly Ethiopian nationals. The Slaughter, a potential crime against humanity, occurred along its border in the South with Yemen.
In a study released yesterday, Human Rights Watch provided evidence of “widespread and systematic” abuses carried out by Saudi borderline officials against predominantly Ethiopian refugees who were fleeing war, poverty, and famine in their own countries.
According to the non-governmental organization located in New York, Saudi border guards killed thousands of people in a 15-month span ending in June 2023, and shootings are still underway.
Survivors said that as they attempted to enter the country, Saudi border guards attacked them with weapons, explosives, ammunition, and mortar fire. Some witnessed scores of deaths few meters away, while others suffered life-threatening wounds like amputations or witnessed the detention of refugees.
A 14yo girl who passed the border claimed she observed people murdered in a way she had never dreamed. In February, she was traveling with a group of 60 people, but due to persistent attacks, she had to return to Sanaa, Yemeni capital.
According to a male boy HRW talked with, border guards killed several others before arresting their group of five men and two 15-year-old girls and ordering the males to sexually assault the girls. One man was shot and murdered for objecting.
“Saudi Arabia’s abuses against migrants and asylum seekers, committed historically and detailed more recently in this report, have been perpetrated with absolute impunity,” the boy explained.
Refugees from East Africa, mostly Ethiopians, embark on the grueling Yemeni way which passes through Djibouti and then crosses the Gulf of Aden by vessel.
Ethiopian Migrants in Crisis
After the war broke out almost a decade ago and one of the worst humanitarian crises in history kicked off, human rights organizations have reported misconduct on refugees in Yemen by both the administration and Saudi agents. However, HRW claimed that the magnitude and frequency of these abuses have only grown since then.
Smugglers transport them north through Yemen, where torture starts. According to the Watch, a cartel of smugglers, criminals and officials has been beating and detaining Ethiopian migrants in Yemen for long years.
Twenty percent of female refugees surveyed by HRW claimed that they got pregnant as a consequence of the sexual assault by traffickers or other migrants. Across the border on Yemen soils, there are two temporary “camps” that are often used by refugees. These camps are divided based on race, allegedly for language learning.
Berhe, an 18-year-old from southern Tigray, was reported by HRW as stating of the al-Raqw camp where the Tigrayan Ethiopian were detained, “There are no fewer than 50,000 people.” Large number of people were residing in the temporary settlements, waiting to enter Saudi Arabia, according to those questioned.
The frontier is a hilly border between the Jizan, Saudi Arabia, and the Saada, governorate of Yemen. The region is known to be strewn with land mines. Refugees move in groups of anything from a few to thousands.
The migrants may be assaulted with explosives, like as mortar rounds, along the road, sometimes for several hours, or days, at a time. Saudi border guards hold those who live through the assaults but are unable to return to Yemen.
While it was difficult to record the precise number of deaths, witnesses were able to tell HRW how many people had returned to the camps in Yemen; Between 4% to 10%.
