US knew of Saudi forces killing Ethiopian migrants, but kept quiet — report
Washington was informed of killings on Saudi-Yemen border while trying to smooth ties with Riyadh and broker deal for Israel, New York Times reports
The United States has been aware of Saudi security forces killing Ethiopian migrants since the fall of 2022 but kept quiet about the issue, The New York Times reported Saturday, after a Human Rights Watch report last week exposed the killings on the Saudi border.
Human Rights Watch said border guards in Saudi Arabia have fired machine guns and launched mortars at Ethiopians trying to cross into Saudi territory from Yemen, likely killing hundreds and “possibly thousands” of the unarmed migrants in recent years, in a report that cited eyewitnesses and images that showed dead bodies and burial sites on migrant routes.
The killings came up while US President Joe Biden’s administration was trying to squash past troubles in bilateral relations with the Saudis and advance a potential normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel — a factor that potentially muted the White House response, The New York Times reported. Washington occasionally overlooks human rights violations by Riyadh and other authoritarian partners in order to maintain friendly relations.
US diplomats received news of the killings in the fall of 2022, and got additional information in December from United Nations officials at a briefing, The New York Times reported, citing anonymous US officials present at the meeting who could not be named, as they did not have permission to talk to the media.
The report said envoys from France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the European Union were also privy to the details.
Responding to the report, the US State Department claimed they only learned of the allegations after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights publicized letters on the matter, 60 days after they were sent to Saudi and Houthi officials.
The New York Times noted that according to a denial by Riyadh in March, one of the letters was originally sent on October 3 of last year.
“The United States quickly engaged senior Saudi officials to express our concern,” the State Department claimed, adding that diplomats raised their concerns with counterparts in Riyadh, including at a UN Security Council briefing on Yemen in January.
Deputy US representative to the UN Richard Mills vaguely mentioned the issue at the meeting, stating, “We remain concerned by alleged abuses against migrants on the border with Saudi Arabia.”
“We urge all parties to allow UN investigators to access both sides of the border to thoroughly investigate these allegations,” he said, without mentioning Washington had been informed of the killings.
Ethiopia announced it will launch a joint investigation with Saudi Arabia into the accusations, its foreign ministry said Tuesday.
Washington has since urged “a thorough and transparent investigation” into the allegations, which were dismissed by a Saudi government source who spoke to AFP.
“The allegations included in the Human Rights Watch report about Saudi border guards shooting Ethiopians while they were crossing the Saudi-Yemeni border are unfounded and not based on reliable sources,” said the source, who requested anonymity.
The EU noted with “concern” the Human Rights Watch allegations and plans to raise them with Riyadh and with the Houthi rebels who control parts of Yemen, a spokesman, Peter Stano, said Tuesday.
“We welcome the announcement by the government of Ethiopia, specifically, to investigate the whole issue together with the authorities in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric called the report “very concerning” but noted the “serious” allegations were difficult to verify.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has documented abuses against Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia and Yemen for nearly a decade.
But it said the latest killings appear to be “widespread and systematic” and may amount to crimes against humanity.
Last year, UN experts reported “concerning allegations” that “cross-border artillery shelling and small-arms fire by Saudi Arabia security forces killed approximately 430 migrants” in southern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen during the first four months of 2022.
In March of that year, the repatriation of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia began under an agreement between the two countries.
Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said about 100,000 of its citizens were expected to be sent home over several months.
The Times of Israel Community.