Clashes in Riyadh as African Migrant Workers Protest Police Crackdown
Two people died and dozens were wounded Saturday in what the state-backed Saudi Press Agency is calling clashes between African migrants and Saudi security forces in Saudi Arabia’s capitol Riyadh.
The clashes followed protests against harsh crackdown on suspected undocumented workers, which escalated in early November.
The Wall Street Journal reports
A 32-year-old Saudi man hit by hurled stones and an unidentified man believed to be a foreign worker died in the clashes in Riyadh’s Manfouah district of African migrant workers, Riyadh police spokesman Fawaz al Maiman said. At least 68 people were wounded. Police arrested 561 workers.
According to CNN
Reports circulated last week of the death of an Ethiopian man, prompting the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry to issue a statement that it “condemned the killing of an Ethiopian and mistreatment of its citizens residing in Saudi Arabia.”
The Independent reports that the crackdown on suspected undocumented workers continues to escalate:
On Sunday thousands of African migrants residing illegally in Riyadh surrendered to police. More than 30,000 people have already been rounded up, according to officials.
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Source: Common Dreams
Source: http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/clashes-in-riyadh-as-african-migrant-workers-protest-police-crackdown/
