Saudi Arabia said unrest in a Shiite Muslim town in the oil-rich Eastern province was the work of an unidentified "foreign country" seeking to undermine the kingdom's stability.
Saudi Arabia
said
unrest in a Shiite Muslim town in the oil-rich Eastern province was the work of
an unidentified "foreign country" seeking to undermine the kingdom's
stability.
"A foreign country is trying to undermine national security by inciting
strife (in the town of
Awamia
),"
the Saudi state news agency quoted a statement by the Interior Ministry
assaying late Tuesday.
Assailants in Awamia used machine guns and Molotov cocktails, which injured 11
security personnel and 3 civilians, according to the statement.
The kingdom warned it would use an "iron fist" against anyone who
tried to undermine security in
Saudi
Arabia
.
Human rights activists told Zawya Dow Jones that the violence started when
police opened fire in the air to disperse protesters who had surrounded a local
police station demanding the release of two men arrested earlier.
The Eastern province is home to both the kingdom's Shiite minority, which is
thought to make up around 10% of the population, as well as the majority of the
country's enormous oil reserves.
Shiites have complained in the past of discrimination when seeking jobs and of
harassment by the authorities, while the government says Saudi law treats
members of both Shiite and the majority Sunni sects equally.
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