Saudi Arabia to build fence on border with Iraq
Saudi Arabia has launched the construction of a high-security five-layered fence on the border with Iraq to protect the country from “infiltrators and smugglers,” according to state media.
The fence will cover 900km (560 miles) of Saudi Arabia’s northern
frontier, SPA state news agency reported. Watchtowers, night
vision and radars will provide surveillance along the fence.
The project was unveiled by King Abdullah late Friday. It was
announced the fence’s purpose was to cut the "number of
infiltrators, drug, arms and cattle smugglers to zero."
Iraq, where government forces are currently battling the radical
Islamic State group, has not been mentioned in connection with
the fence. But it’s exactly the border with Iraq that’s being
cordoned.
Saudi Arabia already deployed 30,000 troops to its 800km border
with Iraq two months ago, after the Islamic State began its rapid
advancement.
READ MORE: Saudi Arabia deploys 30,000 troops at
border after alleged Iraqi withdrawal
Saudi Arabia has been wary of the rise of the Islamic State in
Iraq, as the group deems monarchy illegal.
Now, among things that are supposed to help keep potential
intruders away from the Saudi Arabian border will be eight
command and control centers, 32 rapid response centers, three
rapid intervention squads, 38 back and front gates, 78 monitoring
towers, 10 monitoring and surveillance vehicles, 1,450,000 meters
of fiber optics networks and 50 radars.
Control complexes have already been built in areas stretching
from Hafr al-Batin in the northeast to Turaif near the Jordanian
border, according to SPA.
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia’s critics argue that the kingdom itself
could be blamed for helping spread extremist Salafist Muslim
ideology and for financing extremists.
Saving themselves from the Frankenstein they’ve unleashed?'Saudi unveils 900km fence along Iraq border' pic.twitter.com/Xr1sfG3RTP v @calestous
— Raza Rumi (@Razarumi) September 6, 2014
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq have been tense, with the
countries’ leaderships accusing each other of the current
instability in the region.
The fence on the border with Iraq is not the first one for Saudi
Arabia. It already has a 1,800km (1,118-mile) barrier along its
border with Yemen. And the ultimate plan is to have all of the
country surrounded by a fence. In July 2009, Riyadh signed a deal
with European aerospace and defense contractors EADS to build a
high-tech security fence on 9,000km (5,600 miles) of the
country's borders.
