Wanted man arrested in EP after gunfight

RIYADH: Saudi security forces have arrested a wanted man following a gunfight in Awamiya in the Eastern Province town of Qatif on Sunday.
Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, a spokesman of the Interior Ministry, said that Hussain Hasan Ali Al-Rabea, whose name figured on a list of 23 wanted men in connection with the Awamiya riots, was arrested after he and his followers exchanged fire with the security forces. “The arrest happened while the suspect was selling a large amount of narcotics in Awamiya,” Al-Turki said. “The suspect suffered some minor injures to his legs and he was transferred to a nearby hospital.” He faces charges of instigating unrest in the Eastern Province and peddling huge quantities of narcotics in the area. Al-Rabea was fourth on a list of 23 wanted people announced by the Interior Ministry earlier this year.
Al-Rabea’s arrest reduces the number of those remaining at large to 13, after five others were arrested earlier. Four turned themselves in when the Interior Ministry announced the list in January and were later released.
The Ministry of Interior reiterated its rejection and condemnation of terrorism, regardless of its source, motivations or objectives. The Kingdom actively commits to and implements international resolutions issued by the UN Security Council with regard to combating terrorism.
Saudi officials have also accused the wanted men of serving the agenda of a foreign power or teachings of deviant groups, which Riyadh sees as fomenting sectarian unrest and hatching terror plots to destabilize the region. “We have evidence of a relationship with somebody else abroad,” the Interior Ministry spokesman told a news conference early this year. “We still need to investigate what kind of relationship and how strong the relationship is. That is what we want these people for,” said Al-Turki.
The terror group is accused mainly of possessing illegal firearms and opening fire on the public and police in addition to using innocent people as shields, the Interior Ministry had then said. They indulge in unauthorized assembly, block traffic, and damage public and private property during sporadic confrontations between police and protesters.