National Park rangers are soon to be armed, Prince Bandar Bin Saud, Secretary General of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, has said. Prince Bandar emphasized that carrying of arms by rangers was in no way a green light for them to open fire at will and referred to the strict Ministry of Interior regulations regarding the issue. Weapons, he said, would be used only in extreme cases to protect the rangers from illegal hunters who have been known to attack park patrols. Prince Bandar announced the step as ranger training nears its completion at the end of November. Current ranger training courses, conducted by the Frontier Guards, include theoretical instruction on the environment and practical courses such as desert survival. Park rangers will be armed from the beginning of 2009 with Kalashnikov rifles and pistols. – Okaz __
