Riyadh denies reports of aggression against Ethiopians on border with Yemen

Members of the Saudi national guard man a checkpoint at a border post on the Saudi-Yemen border in Najran, Saudi Arabia, 23 April 2015 [Glen Carey/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Riyadh, on Thursday, denied that Saudi border guards assaulted Ethiopians who attempted to enter the Kingdom, Anadolu Agency reports.

The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted an official source which asserted that such reports are “unfounded and based on unreliable sources”.

The source “denounced the raising of false by some organisations about the Kingdom and the publication and promotion of politicised and misleading reports.”

READ: HRW: Saudi border guards killing hundreds of Ethiopian immigrants

The Saudi authorities “had previously provided the necessary medical care to groups of people who sustained gunfire wounds by armed groups (that aimed) to push them to enter the Kingdom by force across the border,” the source stressed, adding that Riyadh is committed to human rights and international laws.

A recent report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed Saudi authorities carried out “mass killings” against Ethiopian migrants. The border guards “used explosive weapons and shot people at close range, including women and children,” it said.

About 750,000 Ethiopians live and work in Saudi Arabia, according to the rights group.

READ: Ethiopia says it will investigate alleged migrant killings with Saudi Arabia

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