2/27/15, "Saudi Arabia builds wall to protect against jihadists," La Prensa, Riyadh
"Saudi Arabia is currently building a wall along its northern and southern borders in an attempt to protect its territory against the threat of jihadism, which erupted in Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003 and is now being personified by the Islamic State jihadist group, as well as al-Qaeda in Yemen.
The fear of terrorist infiltration from Iraq, where U.S. troops have been present since 2003, has progressively grown in Saudi Arabia for the past decade, prompting authorities to announce in 2006 the construction of a security fence that would help prevent the spread of violent actions in the territory.
The progress of the project, which includes building a wall more than 900 km (560 miles) in length along the border with Iraq, was slow at the beginning, although the idea recovered momentum in June 2014, when the IS proclaimed caliphate in the territories under its control in Iraq and Syria.
The total number of fatalities in neighboring Iraq between 2008 and 2013 had fallen to its lowest point since the U.S. invasion, but jumped again in 2014 as 17,000 people died due to violence, according to the organization Iraq Body Count.
The IS’ violent eruption in 2014, along with the proclamation of a caliphate, revived the idea of a security wall, leading late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz to inaugurate the construction’s first phase in June.
This border fence, which will have gates in the desert, will feature the latest technologies such as surveillance cameras, eight centers of command and control, 32 points of rapid intervention, 78 watchtowers, and trained staff.
It will also contain 1.45 million meters of fiber networks, 50 radars, and motion detectors that will be installed along the 900-kilometer wall.
This initiative led to strained relations between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite, Saudi political analyst Ahmed al-Ghamedi told Efe.
Saudi officials repeatedly accused al-Maliki of practicing sectarian politics in Iraq by marginalizing Sunnis, marring relations between Riyadh and Baghdad until last year’s appointment of Iraq’s new prime minister, Haidar al-Abadi.
The wall “will not adversely affect” Saudi-Iraqi ties, according to al-Ghamedi, who claimed it would instead strengthen bilateral cooperation on security matters.
He also considered the project as a means to consolidate Saudi Arabia’s political stability and national security.
Riyadh reinforced security measures along the country’s border with Iraq by sending 30,000 troops, following several jihadist attacks on Saudi forces that resulted in the deaths of three soldiers.
The progressive destabilization in Yemen, where al-Qaeda set up a subsidiary in the early years of the new millennium, led Saudi authorities to order the construction, in April 2003, of an electrified fence spanning more than 1,780 km (1,107 miles) along the southern border.
This initiative aroused the suspicion of then-Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who considered the proposal as contrary to the border treaty signed in 2000 between the two countries in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
The treaty also regulated grazing activity and the use of oil resources in frontier areas.
The disputes faded when Riyadh decided to halt construction in 2004, after building only 100 km (62 miles); however, the project was resumed in April, 2013.
Al-Ghamedi also defended the Saudi plan, which he considered effective in protecting the country from the chaos taking place in neighboring countries and shielding it from terrorist attacks.
In its national security efforts, Saudi Arabia has not hesitated to use drones, camera-equipped balloons and ultrasensitive radars to monitor the kingdom’s borders. The new equipment, which is replacing the traditional surveillance conducted by helicopters and patrol jeeps, has the ability to monitor even small animals along the vast Saudi borders." via Lucianne
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