The government has blamed unrest among Shi’ites in the Qatif district of oil-producing Eastern Province on an unnamed foreign power, seen as code for Iran, something local activists have denied. Sixteen people have been killed in Qatif in clashes with police in the past two years.
Shi’ite activists said several members of their community had been arrested in the past four days across Saudi Arabia and their families had not been able to contact them.
