RIYADH – Six suspects wanted over unrest in Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minoritystronghold of Qatif were killed in a police raid this week, the kingdom’ssecret service said Wednesday.
One person was lightly wounded and arrested in the “preemptive” raid on”terrorists” holed up in a house in the eastern town of Jish on Monday, astatement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency said.
Five officers were wounded in the operation, which the statement said hadfoiled a planned attack on infrastructure development in the EasternProvince, which includes Qatif.
Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 whenprotesters emboldened by the Arab Spring took to the streets demanding anend to what they say is discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government.
One of the leaders of the protest movement, Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, wasexecuted in 2016 on a terrorism indictment.
Nimr’s execution exacerbated sectarian tension both across the Gulf andwith Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival, Shiite Iran.
Saudi authorities in 2017 seized control of a restive district of Awamiya,a town in the Qatif region that had been a protest hub.
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Human Rights Watch said at the time it had satellite evidence showing Saudisecurity forces had completely “surrounded and sealed off” the town.
Saudi authorities have blamed “terrorists” and drug traffickers for thedeadly unrest in Awamiya.
The Shiite community is estimated to make up between 10 and 15 percent ofthe kingdom’s population of 32 million, but the government has released noofficial statistics.
The government denies discrimination against Shiites. – APP/AFP
