Saudi border guards fired "like rain" on Ethiopian migrants trying to cross into the Gulf kingdom from Yemen, killing hundreds since last year, Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday. One 20-year-old woman from Ethiopia's Oromia region, interviewed by HRW, said Saudi border guards opened fire on a group of migrants they had just released from custody. "The allegations included in the Human Rights Watch report about Saudi border guards shooting Ethiopians while they were crossing the Saudi-Yemeni border are unfounded and not based on reliable sources," said the source, who requested anonymity. In March that year, repatriation of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia began under an agreement between the two countries. Some survivors described attacks at close range, with Saudi border guards asking Ethiopians "in which limb of their body they would prefer to be shot", the report said.

Source: Ethiopian News August 21, 2023 13:34 UTC