Saudi Arabia continues the massacre against Ethiopians and Yemenis at the international border
Report By | Parvez Ahmad
Saudi Arabia persists in targeting Ethiopians and Yemenis at its border with impunity, despite reports of abuses by human rights groups. According to the Mixed Migration Centre, Saudi Arabia opened fire indiscriminately on Ethiopian and Yemeni migrants attempting to cross the border unofficially from Yemen in 2023 and 2024.
Human Rights Watch has labeled these actions possible crimes against humanity, criticizing the international community for turning a blind eye and failing to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its violence with impunity.
Middle East Eye revealed how Ethiopians fleeing the conflict in Tigray encountered open fire and mass burial of bodies along the Saudi-Yemen border. Refugees were detained and taken to Saudi jails, where they faced beatings, torture, and sexual assault. Human rights groups reported that Saudi guards used mass surveillance, automated firing ammunition, and loudspeakers to intimidate them.
Over a three-month period in 2022, the MMC documented 430 killings and 650 injuries caused by Saudi border guards. Following these revelations, United Nations officials accused Saudi authorities of violating migrants’ rights, highlighting reports that girls as young as 13 were raped by Saudi security forces.
The lack of international intervention has allowed Saudi authorities to continue committing mass violence against refugees. Despite a brief storm of international outrage in 2023, the United States, European Union, and United Nations have taken minimal action.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has made no effort to conduct an official investigation, as reported by the MMC.
“So little has been done to censure Saudi Arabia, which surely can find an alternative, less cruel way of deterring the poorest of irregular migrants whose only offense is desperately seeking economic opportunity in a vastly wealthy, migrant-dependent economy,” the report stated.
When these reports made international headlines, the U.S. called on Saudi Arabia to investigate and identify which members of its security forces committed crimes against humanity. The Yemeni border has become a critical passage for refugees from the Horn of Africa seeking entry into Saudi Arabia. Many refugees rely on border traffickers for passage but become victims of violence.
The International Organization for Migration reported that nearly 800,000 people fled Yemen due to civil conflicts and lack of economic and employment opportunities.
