Saudi Arabia accused of opening fire on illegal immigrants.

 

Ethiopians in Yemen. CBS News/Getty.

Saudi Arabia is accused of opening fire on illegal migrants from Ethiopia. CBS News. The allegations are denied by the Saudis. Human Rights Watch said that migrants have come under fire from rifles and mortars with around 430 people dying. There are also accusations against the Houthi rebels that are in control of much of the border region of Yemen. The Houthis are accused of working with human smugglers and are extorting Ethiopian migrants. The Saudis have a major problem with Ethiopian illegals and is expected to deport 100,000 of them in the next few months. 

My Comment:

Keep in mind that Yemen is technically still a warzone. The Saudis and the Houthi rebels signed a truce last year but the war isn't completely over. Plus, Yemen is a hotbed for terrorists and criminals given the civil war and the general lack of control. 

So did the Saudis kill a bunch of migrants? It's certainly possible. But it might not be out of pure malice. It could be a case of mistaken identity. Like I said, Yemen is a war zone that is full of terrorists and criminals. It's certainly possible that some of these migrants were mistaken for terrorists or criminals and the border guards may not have been willing to risk it to find out for sure and opened fire. That's an example of bad training to be sure and the Saudis should investigate and prosecute the people responsible for it. 

It's also very possible that some of these killings may have been soldiers going rouge and deciding the best way to deal with these people was to kill them. That is something that happens disturbingly often and it's very possible that many of these killings were just psychos that wanted to murder people. 

Still, is there some kind of government policy to murder migrants on the border? I kind of doubt it. Supposedly there are 100,000 Ethiopians that made it across the border and even the worst case scenario for these killings is around 430 being killed. That's nothing and not evidence of targeted killing. 

And it's very possible that the Saudis aren't even responsible for all the killings or even most of them. Again, Yemen is a war zone that is fairly out of control. The Houthis are pretty scary themselves and are certainly capable of killing migrants, though one would wonder why they would. But groups like AQAP or ISIS? They would have no problem murdering civilians like this. Same with the human smugglers bringing these people into Saudi Arabia in the first place. 

Regardless, I have very little sympathy for the Ethiopians. I understand wanting to leave Ethiopia but it makes zero sense to try to go to Saudi Arabia by traveling through a war zone. Ethiopia is a basket case but it is at peace so there is no real immediate threat that these people are fleeing from. And even if they make it into Saudi Arabia they are going to be deported, so what is even the point?