“There is no truth at all to these reports,” said Col. Abdullah Al-Qarni, spokesman of the Asir police.
He said the 18 undocumented foreign nationals had suffered burns of varying degrees as a result of a massive fire in a garbage dump.
“Civil Defense firefighters rushed to the site and put out the fire while the injured were taken to hospital,” he said.
According to a statement issued by the Civil Defense Department, the undocumented foreign nationals, who were later identified as Yemenis, were in the rubbish dump at the time sifting through garbage.
The Civil Defense Department said the fire first broke out at the site containing car tires and garbage, and engulfed a 50-square-meter area.
“The people who were present at the fire site were Yemenis,” said Maj. Muhammad Al-Asimi, spokesman of the department.
The 18 Yemenis were treated at a Civil Hospital in Khamis Mushayt for a week before being deported to their country through Tiwal border point.
“These undocumented people used to sneak into the Asir region and engage in criminal activities such as stealing and looting,” Al-Qarni said. They have committed 189 crimes in the region, he said, adding that one gang admitted 54 crimes including 10 cases of murder.
Al-Qarni said the Yemenis living in the Asir region with valid resident permits have all been receiving care from the government.
“Sheikh Nasser Al-Azizi, head of the Yemeni community in the region, has acknowledged this fact,” he pointed out.
However, he emphasized that security agencies would not show any leniency toward those people who try to undermine the Kingdom’s security and stability.
The injured Yemenis were: Sabir Abdullah, Khidr Al-Hekami, Mahmoud Zoubar, Khaled Ali, Darwish Ali, Hussein Bakari, Muhammad Muawadha, Ajlan Ahmed Hussein, Majed Shami, Majed Shasha, Abdullah Salloum, Hussein Salloum, Samhan, Mohsen Mairam, Naif Qouz, Hafiz Al-Barae, Abdullah Hashim and Muhammad Fouz.
