HRW: Saudi Arabia Responsible for Killing Hundreds of Ethiopian Migrants

By Staff, Agencies

Human Rights Watch cautioned on Monday that Saudi border guards are killing “hundreds of migrants” from Ethiopia who try to cross through Yemen into the Gulf state.

According to the New York-based rights group, Saudi guards fire “explosive weapons” on Ethiopians who take the “Eastern Route” from the Horn of Africa to the kingdom.

"Saudi officials are killing hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers in this remote border area out of view of the rest of the world," HRW researcher Nadia Hardman said in a statement.

She further stated that “Spending billions buying up professional golf, football clubs, and major entertainment events to improve the Saudi image should not deflect attention from these horrendous crimes.”

The group documented abuses against Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia and Yemen for nearly a decade, but the latest killings appear to be "widespread and systematic" and may amount to crimes against humanity, it said.

The HRW report draws from interviews with 38 Ethiopian migrants who tried to cross into Saudi Arabia from Yemen, as well as from satellite imagery and videos and photos posted to social media "or gathered from other sources". Interviewees described 28 "explosive weapons incidents" including attacks by mortar projectiles, the report said.

Some survivors described attacks at close range, with Saudi border guards asking Ethiopians "in which limb of their body they would prefer to be shot", the report said. HRW called on Riyadh to "immediately and urgently revoke" any policy of using lethal force on migrants and asylum seekers and urged the UN to investigate the killings.