THE SAUDIS ERECT A WALL TO KEEP OUT SHI’ITE REBELS….WILL THE UN CONDEMN?
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING
Saudis urgently erect new border fence to block ‘massive’ immigration of Shi’ites
ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia, amid heavy fighting with Shi’ite rebels, has begun erecting another security fence along its border with Yemen.
Saudi military sources said the Defense Ministry has overseen a fast-track project to construct a barbed wire fence along most of the 1,600-kilometer border with Yemen. The sources said the project reflected an urgent requirement for a physical barrier to block the flow of thousands of Shi’ite rebels and their supporters from Yemen to the Saudi kingdom.
“The infiltration has reached massive proportions,” a Saudi source said. “Thousands are crossing into the kingdom.”
The Royal Saudi Army has been assigned responsibility for the border fence, the sources said. They said the initial stage stipulated a barbed wire barrier in areas used by Shi’ite rebels to enter Saudi Arabia, particularly along Mount Doud and Mount Dukhan.
In 2009, the Interior Ministry oversaw a project to begin installing an advanced security network along the border with Yemen. But the sources said infiltrators have largely avoided areas of the border that contain the electronic fence, developed by prime contractor EADS.
The sources said EADS and other Western contractors were helping the latest Saudi border effort. They said EADS was installing infrared sensors and cameras along numerous points of the Saudi-Yemeni border.
“The problem is that most of the infiltration takes place at night in rugged terrain, where they evade our forces,” the source said.
The Saudi Army has also reinforced its presence along the Yemeni border. The sources said M1A2 main battle tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, Piranha LAV-25 armored vehicles, AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters were helping patrol the border and battle Shi’ite rebels.
On Dec. 13, the Saudi military launched an offensive against the Iranian-backed Believing Youth along the Yemeni border. The sources said the offensive was meant to drive out Shi’ite rebels from the Saudi village of Al Jabiri, which contains an army outpost.
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