Lethal Force Sanctioned By Saudi Authorities To Clear Land For Future City

Alenezi, a former intelligence officer, disclosed that Saudi Arabia approved the Neom eco-project using lethal force, noting that a villager was shot during a protest.

According to a former intelligence officer named Rabih Alenezi, Saudi officials have reportedly approved the use of deadly force to clear land for a futuristic desert city that is being built as part of the Neom eco-project.

Alenezi claims he was ordered to drive out residents from a Saudi tribe in order to build The Line, a vital part of the $500 billion Neom project. It has been stated that amid protests against the eviction, one villager was shot and died.

Both the Neom management and the Saudi government have refrained from commenting on the accusations.

One of the main components of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan is the Neom initiative, which aims to diversify the economy of the country away from oil. The 170 km long project, known as The Line, is supposed to create a car-free city, but development is apparently running behind schedule.

Several multinational corporations, including a number of British enterprises, are working on the building of Neom. However, there have been worries expressed regarding the local populations being uprooted to make room for the project. Human rights organizations calculate that more than 6,000 people have been moved, and that entire communities have been destroyed to make way for new construction.

The Huwaitat tribe primarily resides in the village of al-Khuraybah. Alenezi, who is currently living in exile in the UK, revealed that he was given an order in April 2020 to remove the village. According to reports, the order permitted the use of deadly force against evictees who were resisting.

When Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti refused to give authorities permission to appraise his property and was shot and killed during the eviction operation, the situation became more heated. Human rights organizations assert that he was slain for refusing eviction, notwithstanding Saudi security officials’ assertion that he opened fire first.

An individual with knowledge of Saudi intelligence endorsed Alenezi’s statement, despite the reports’ inability to independently confirm his assertions regarding the application of deadly force.

In addition, reports from the UN and ALQST indicate that at least 47 other people were arrested for opposing evictions, many of whom were charged with terrorism. Forty of those who were arrested are still being held, five of them are on death row. Due to their social media grieving for al-Huwaiti’s passing, some people were jailed.