2017–18 Qatif unrest

2017–18 Qatif unrest
Part of the Qatif conflict
Date12 May 2017[1] – present
(1 year, 5 months and 1 day)
LocationQatif and Awamiya, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
 Saudi Arabia Shia militants
Casualties and losses
12 killed (Saudi claim) 5 killed (activists' claim)
12–25 civilians killed (activists' claim)[2]
Thousands of civilians displaced[3]

The Qatif unrest is an ongoing conflict in the Qatif region of Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, between the Saudi government and Shia community.[4] It began after an incident on 12 May 2017, when a child and a Pakistani man were shot and killed.[5]

Background

On 15 October 2014, Nimr al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court for "seeking 'foreign meddling' in Saudi Arabia, 'disobeying' its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces".[6] Said Boumedouha of Amnesty International stated that the death sentence was part of a campaign by the authorities in Saudi Arabia to crush all dissent, including those defending the rights of the Kingdom's Shi'a Muslim community.[7] Nimr al-Nimr's brother, Mohammad al-Nimr, tweeted information about the death sentence[6] and was arrested on the same day.[7]

The head of Iran's armed forces warned Saudi Arabia that it would "pay dearly" if it carried out the execution.[8]

In March 2015 the Saudi Arabian appellate court upheld the death sentence against al-Nimr.[9]

On 25 October 2015, the Supreme Religious Court of Saudi Arabia rejected al-Nimr's appeal against his death sentence. During an interview for Reuters, al-Nimr's brother claimed that the decision was a result of a hearing which occurred without the presence or notification of al-Nimr's lawyers and family. This being said, he still remained hopeful that King Salman would grant a pardon.[10][11][12]

Timeline

2017

  • 12 May – Saudi soldiers shot and killed a two-and-a-half year old child and a young man in the town of Awamiyah.[13] Lebanon's al-Ahed news claimed that the mother of the child was critically injured. However, the Saudi government claimed that terrorists were responsible for the incident.[14]
  • 16 May – A Saudi soldier was killed and five more were wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade in a district of al-Awamiya in operations to counter the militants.[15]
  • 1 June – Two people were killed in a car explosion in Al-Qatif just before Maghrib prayers. Three men involved in the attack managed to escape and are currently being hunted by security officers in the area.[16]
  • 11 June – One soldier was killed and two wounded after a bomb attack in the town of Al-Awamiyah.[17]
  • 4 July – A Saudi policeman was killed and three others injured by an explosive device in a flashpoint Shiite-dominated city.[18]
  • 6 July – A Saudi policeman was killed and six others injured by an explosive device next to a police patrol in the village of Al-Awamiyah near Al-Qatif.[19]
  • 14 July – A Saudi soldier was killed and another was wounded in a shooting attack on their patrol vehicle in Qatif province.[20]
  • 26–27 July – five people killed during Police raids in Awamiya, according to activists.[21]
  • 30 July – A Saudi police officer was killed and six others wounded when a patrol came under attack in the town of Awamiya.[22]
  • 3 August – A Saudi citizen was killed and another injured during an operation to secure families wishing to leave Awamiya, after an armed attack by terrorists on a bus.[23]
  • 7 November – Saudi security staff killed in Qatif.[24]
  • 19 December – Al Arabiya sources confirmed that terrorist Salman Ali Salman al-Faraj was killed in Awamiya, eastern province of Saudi Arabia, after confrontations with the police forces.[25]
  • 19 December – The body of Shiite Sheikh Mohammed al-Jirani, who had been kidnapped a year earlier by Shiite militants in the Eastern Province, was found in Qatif during a security raid.[26]

2018

  • 16 January – The Saudi Presidency of State Security announced that wanted fugitive Abdullah Mirza al-Qallaf was killed in a security operation in al-Qatif.[27]
  • 5 April – A Saudi soldier was killed in a raid against militants in the city of Al-Awamiyah in the eastern province of Qatif in Saudi Arabia. Several weapons and explosives were found. The security forces foiled terrorist attacks after the operation.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "Saudi police officer killed in restive Eastern Province". PressTV. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  2. ↑ McKernan, Bethan (4 August 2017). "Inside the Saudi town that's been under siege for three months by its own government". The Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Unrest in Saudi Arabia town displaces thousands". Al Jazeera. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Awamiya: Inside Saudi Shia town devastated by demolitions and fighting". BBC News. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "Two, including infant, killed after 'terror shootout' in Saudi Arabia's Qatif". Al Arabiya. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Saudi Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr 'sentenced to death'". BBC News. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  7. 1 2 ""Saudi Arabia: Appalling death sentence against Shi'a cleric must be quashed"". Amnesty International. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "The Shia in Saudi Arabia: The sword unsheathed". The Economist. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "Saudi Appeal Court Upholds Sheikh Nimr's Death Sentence". Tasnim News Agency. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Saudi court upholds death sentence for Shi'ite cleric". Reuters. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Saudi Arabia top court confirms death sentence of Shiite Muslim Cleric". JURIST. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Saudi Arabia court confirms Shia cleric death sentence". Al-Jazeera. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Saudi soldier killed as eastern province unrest continues". The Naw Arab. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Pakistani worker, Saudi minor killed in Qatif terror attack". Dunya News TV. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Saudi soldier killed five wounded in restive Qatif province". The Jerusalem Post. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  16. ↑ "Car filled with explosives rocks Qatif in Saudi Arabia's eastern province". Al Arabiya. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "Saudi Arabia soldier killed in Qatif bomb blast". Al Jazeera. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  18. ↑ "Saudi Policeman Killed by Explosive Device". Naharnet. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  19. ↑ "Saudi policeman killed, 6 wounded in Qatif bomb attack". Arab News. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  20. ↑ "Saudi soldier killed, another wounded in restive Qatif province". Reuters. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  21. ↑ "At least five dead during Saudi security operation in Qatif: activists". Reuters. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  22. ↑ "Policeman killed, six wounded in eastern Saudi Arabia attack | News , Middle East". The Daily Star. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  23. ↑ "Saudi man killed, another wounded in Awamiya terrorist attack". Al Arabiya. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  24. ↑ "Saudi security man killed in Qatif". Saudi Gazette. 2017-11-06. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  25. ↑ "Most wanted man in Qatif attack killed in Saudi Arabia". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  26. ↑ "Who is the Saudi Shiite judge found killed by his Shiite terrorist compatriots?". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  27. ↑ "Saudi State Security: Fugitive Killed in Security Operation in Qatif | Asharq AL-awsat". Aawsat.com. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  28. ↑ "Saudi soldier killed in Qatif province, Al Arabiya reports". The National. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
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