Americans advised on leaving Saudi Arabia ( 2003-12-18 10:47) (Agencies)
Nonessential American
diplomats and the families of all U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia should leave,
the State Department said Wednesday, stepping up its warnings about risks
in the country.
Private U.S. citizens also should consider departing, the department said.
Americans making plans to go to Saudi Arabia were advised to defer any such
travel in light of "the potential for further terrorist activities."
The departure of U.S. officials and family members was voluntary, with the
U.S. government covering the expenses.
"We remain fully confident that Saudi authorities are doing everything they
can to protect their citizens and foreign nationals in the kingdom against
terrorist attacks," department spokesman Lou Fintor said. He said the
department's decision was "based on the reality that the terrorist threat in
Saudi Arabia remains at a critical level."
Security was tight in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with a heavy police presence
in the city and armored personnel carries and heavily armed soldiers outside
Western housing compounds and at key intersections. Police and soldiers manned
roadblocks and checkpoints, and there was beefed-up security outside the
diplomatic quarter, where a number of Western embassies are located.
Americans who travel to the kingdom or remain there despite the warning were
told to register with the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh or the consulates in Jiddah and
Dhahran.
"The U.S. government continues to receive indications of terrorist threats
aimed at American and Western interests," the department said. Americans in
Saudi Arabia were advised to remain vigilant, "particularly in public places
associated with the Western community."
No single specific threat or piece of intelligence led to the department's
action, said a U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of
anonymity. Instead, the decision was based on a review of the entire terrorism
picture in the kingdom.
There are some 200 to 300 nonessential U.S. officials and family members in
Saudi Arabia, and about 30,000 U.S. citizens in all.
Travel by American officials and their families in Riyadh already is
restricted to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Last month, a housing compound in Riyadh was bombed, killing 17 people and
wounding more than 100. Police arrested a Saudi citizen believed to have helped
smuggle in from Yemen the weapons used in the attack, the Saudi daily Okaz
reported Wednesday.
American and Saudi officials blamed that attack and suicide bombings at three
other housing projects in May on Saudi exile Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda
terrorist network. Thirty-five people, including nine attackers were killed.
The State Department responded by ordering nonessential U.S. officials and
family members to depart.
The diplomatic quarter east of Riyadh has been guarded heavily by Saudi armed
forces since the suicide attacks.
Saudi officials say most of the weapons used in militant operations in Saudi
Arabia — including the May suicide attacks — were smuggled from
Yemen.
