In order to preempt protests, 500 policemen took part in the demolition of buildings which had been built without permission in Umm Al-Ghowar. “Four previously scheduled demolitions had failed to take place because of people trying to stop the municipality's work,” Abdullah Zaydi, the municipality's vice president said. “That is why this time the police were brought in.” Two youths who tried to block the demolition were taken away by police. Zaydi said that those responsible for illegally building on the land had tried to make authorities believe that people were living there to avoid the demolition of the buildings. Makkah Police, the Criminal Investigation Department, the Civil Defense, and the Red Crescent were present at the demolition scene, while policewomen were on hand to deal with a number of women who attempted to block the work. Considerable tracts of land have in the past ended up in the hands of people who put up random constructions to mark plots of land as their own, hoping that with the passage of time, authorities would grant them ownership.
