Abdullah Al-Fifi Okaz/Saudi Gazette FAIFA — Three Ethiopian infiltrators were killed in a shootout with security officers who were raiding several suspicious locations in the border region. At least 58 overstayers who tried to flee the scene awere arrested. One security officer was injured in the exchange of fire. Seventy-one infiltrators were arrested Wednesday in Faifa governorate, most of them Yemeni and Ethiopian nationals. A large cache of ammunition and guns were confiscated from several vehicles in the same governorate. A Jazan police spokesman said security forces will also comb villages in the area to flush out overstayers. Extensive campaigns were recently launched by security forces to arrest overstayers hiding in the mountains and villages surrounding the Faifa governorate.Citizens have played an important role in helping officers arrest these workers as they provided tips on the locations of their hideouts and the deserted houses the overstayers used. The Faifa governor said over 50 Ethiopians who had been hiding in rugged mountain areas were nabbed over the past two days. A citizen who lives in the area said Border Guard recruits who have recently graduated from the Border Guard Center and familiar with the area should be used to carry out raids. “They know the terrain like the back of their hands and are in a better position to chase overstayers and arrest them,” he said. Another citizen accused overstayers in the area of being involved in criminal activities. “They tried to rob my house and my brother engaged them in a fight. They then pelted us with stones and I believe they are very dangerous.” Okaz/Saudi Gazette accompanied officers during a recent raid on several deserted houses at the foot of Al-Mashnawi Mountain and other nearby mountains. Dozens of illegal workers who were staying in the abandoned houses were arrested. The Al-Dayer governor said around 140 Ethiopian overstayers were nabbed in Al-Hashr Mountain with the help of citizens. The governor urged citizens to report any illegal workers they spot in the mountains as they pose a threat to the safety and security of the governorate. “Some Ethiopians form gangs and smuggle drugs into this border region. Most of them stay in dens and only go out in the dark when nobody can see them. They can move around easily because they know the terrain very well,” he said. Al-Edabi governorate has also been infiltrated by Ethiopian illegal workers and dozens have been reported to take up shelter in abandoned houses. The men cross into the Kingdom through the mountains with the help of citizens who sneak them across the border for a fee of SR100-SR200 per person. “Most of them don't want to work and earn money legally. They're looking for easy gains. That's why they sell drugs and alcohol and some of them sell weapons,” said a resident of Neid village near the border region.
