March 9, 2007

THE SUSPECTS OF KILLING FOUR FRENCHMEN NORTH OF AL MADINAH AL MUNAWARAH FAIL TO TURN IN AND THEIR NAMES ARE ADDED TO THE WANTED LIST. LARGE FINANCIAL REWARDS ALLOCATED TO THOSE WHO PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PERPETRATORS. NO CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF FRENCH CITIZENS VISITING AND LEAVING SAUDI ARABIA. Two Saudi men suspected of involvement in the Feb. 26 cold-blooded murder of four French nationals 90 km north of Madinah have been given an ultimatum by the Interior Ministry: Turn yourselves in by 8 a.m. March 7, 2007, or else. "If they fail to do so they will be declared wanted men," said Mansour Al-Turki, Interior Ministry spokesman. Although the connection of Abdullah Sayer Muawad Al-Muhammadi and Nasser Latef Al-Balwi to the crime is unclear, the government is offering a SR7 million ($1.9 million) reward for information leading to their capture. Commenting on the announcement, Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed said that the publishing of the names "gives these men an opportunity to come forward and surrender to Saudi security forces." "We will continue to hunt them down until they are caught," he added. The Interior Ministry also announced the arrest of an undisclosed number of suspects in connection with the crime. The ministry did not want to divulge details about where or when the suspects were arrested because the investigation is ongoing. "We have enough evidence to believe that the suspects might have been involved in the crime, but we will interrogate them before announcing their names to find out who was involved directly and who wasn't," Al-Turki told Arab News. An Interior Ministry statement described the killings as "a horrific crime committed by criminals who violated Islamic law and abandoned their Arabian values when they backstabbed innocent people who were under the protection of the government." The ministry also said that residents of the areas where the suspects were apprehended helped authorities in the search. When asked if the crime is being treated as an act of terrorism or whether it is considered a hate crime against foreigners, Al-Turki said: "It's too early to draw any conclusions (about the motives for the crime) as many terror suspects are still at large." Meanwhile, more details have been revealed about the crime. A statement by the ministry said the three families got lost about 90 km north of Madinah, south of the archaeological site of Madain Saleh, which is considered a major tourism asset by the government. They stopped for a break as they were driving down a small road searching for the main highway connecting Tabuk to Madinah. According to testimonies by the five survivors, two men in a green Nissan Safari picked out the men and the 17-year-old boy, Mubarak, from the group and shot them. The two Saudis suspected of involvement in the Feb. 26 murder of four French nationals failed to meet the 7th of March, 8 a.m. deadline to surrender peacefully to Saudi authorities for questioning. Nasser Latef Al-Balawi and Abdullah Sayer Al-Muhammadi failed to appear before authorities and are now considered fugitives from the law. Saudi authorities said they have arrested suspects over the February killing of four Frenchmen near the Muslim holy city of Madina but are still hunting two others linked to the murder. "Strong evidence led to the arrest of some suspects" in the shooting of the four French nationals on February 26, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by official media. "Evidence shows the two are linked to the crime," ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told AFP. The slain men were among a group of nine members of three French families returning to their homes in the capital Riyadh after visiting an historic site in northwestern Saudi Arabia and were shot dead in the desert area near Al Madinah Al Munawarah. The survivors, women and children, have since returned to France. The interior ministry quoted survivors as saying "two individuals" opened fire with machineguns on the French families after they lost their way in a desert area 90 kilometres (55 miles) from Madinah. "The interest of the investigation requires each of Abdullah Sayer Muawad Al-Muhammadi, a Saudi national, and his relative and Nasser Latef Al-Balwi, a Saudi national, to turn themselves in to the closest security outpost to clarify the truth of their position urgently," the ministry statement said. "Should they fail to give themselves up, they will be considered as wanted by security authorities," it added. The French Embassy also said it has been warned by Saudi authorities that the group behind last week's killing of the Frenchmen might strike again. The French Embassy in Riyadh has warned its nationals in the Kingdom to take additional security measures after it said the embassy received a warning letter from the Saudi Foreign Ministry. "As soon as we received the warning letter we informed our nationals in the Kingdom of the new threat on the embassy's website and via SMS text messages," Alain Guepratte, second secretary at the French Embassy told Arab News. He also said French nationals were informed that the warning letter was based on another letter sent to the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry from the Interior Ministry, but numbers of French people coming in and leaving the country has not changed. "French nationals have been asked to report any suspicious acts directly to the local police, the consulate in Jeddah, or the embassy in Riyadh," he added. The diplomat said that the warning letter was not sent to the French Embassy alone, but to all embassies in Saudi Arabia and consulates general. The US Embassy issued a warden's message on Tuesday saying it had received a similar warning from the Saudi government. "The embassy has been notified by Saudi authorities that embassy personnel should defer travel to desert areas in northern Saudi Arabia from Madinah, north to Qurayat, and in the vicinity of the ruins at Madain Saleh until further notice," said the statement posted on the embassy website. The French nationals were killed when assailants in a car opened fired on a group of nine French nationals after the group visited the historic site of Madain Saleh on Feb. 26. Two of the men in the group died on the spot. A third man died a day later in hospital. The fourth victim was a 17-year-old boy. The Ministry of Interior issued supplementary statement saying: elaborating on the attack on a group of expatriates of French nationality near Madinah on Monday 8/2/1428 H., which resulted in the murder of four of them, an official source at the ministry of interior said security authorities rushed to the site of the incident instantly when they were informed of it. Investigation showed that a group of French expatriates, consisting of three families, were heading for Madinah region and lost their way in a desert region about 90 kilometers from Madinah. After several attempts by them to find the main road, and while stopping for rest, a Nissan patrol green car stopped near them. Two persons came out of the car and started shooting at them using machine guns, according to the testimony of survivors. In view of this hideous crime perpetrated by those criminals who violated teachings of Islam and Arab values and killed in cold blood and in a desolate desert area defenceless innocents whose lives should have been protected, the security forces in the region were mobilized supported by the citizens of the region who were upset by the incident. In spite of the little information provided by the relatives of the victims due to the speed in which the crime was carried out and due to the difference of language, intensive security efforts resulted in finding strong evidence which led to the arrest of some suspects. For the interest of investigation, Abdullah Sayer Muawad Al-Muhammadi and Nasser Latef Al-Balwi, Saudi nationals, should surrender themselves to the nearest security agency to explain the truth of their position in an urgent matter and in a period not exceeding 8:00 am on Wednesday 17/2/1428 H. in case they don't surrender, they will be treated as wanted for security authorities. The Interior Ministry urges anyone having information about them to report it to the nearest security agency. It also warns that anyone dealing with them or harbouring them will be considered as partners of them. It should be noted that anyone informing about them will be eligible for the previously announced rewards which can reach seven million riyals. Prince Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz, the deputy interior minister, has reiterated that investigations are underway on the incident of murdering a group of Frenchmen. 'God willing, the criminals involved in this heinous crime which runs counter to the teachings of the religion and moral values, said Prince Ahmad who was speaking here last night after patronizing an inaugural ceremony at Riyadh model institute. Asked about the security situation and efforts for fighting terrorism, Prince Ahmad said the situation is much better compared to the situation in the previous years, and added it will be wrong to think that the matter is over, because mistakes are committed at all places and times and in all countries. Asked if certain criminals stand behind the crash of the civil defence plane, Prince Ahmad said 'no' and added I think the incident was due to a bad weather in a sandy region.' Prince Ahmad deplored the cases of abducting some children which have caused the anxiety of the citizens, and said this is a vicious crime which contradicts to the teachings of the Islamic Shariah, adding that 'thanks to Almighty Allah abducting children has not yet become a phenomenon in the Saudi society. Asked about the possibility of establishing a female police, Prince Ahmad said 'I don't think we are in need of a female police'. The three widows of the Frenchmen killed by unidentified gunmen, as well as two children of one of the women, returned to France, said Alain Guepratte, a spokesman of the French Embassy. The spokesman did not provide any details on the investigation into the killings where unidentified gunmen opened fire with Kalashnikovs on a group of nine who were taking a roadside break on the Tabuk-Madinah highway. The French Embassy has reiterated its standing travel recommendations for its nationals in Saudi Arabia, namely "of prudence, of discretion, of strict respect for the dress code, and of limiting their movements." There are approximately 3,600 French nationals residing in the Kingdom, and the embassy is urging them to avoid unnecessary travel. The French Embassy also issued a statement saying it isn't clear if the attackers discovered the nationality of their victims before gunning them down in cold blood as they were enjoying the scenery. Reports say the group may have visited the archaeological site of Madain Saleh, which the Saudi government considers a tourism asset. Some reports claim the attackers, asked their victims their nationality before gunning down three men, including Jean-Marc Bonnet and his 17-year-old son Mubarak, both French-Moroccan Muslims. Funeral prayers were held for the two at the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. Two of the men killed in the attack, including Bonnet, were reportedly engineers at Schneider Electric. The third man, whose identity has not been released, was reportedly a teacher at a French school in Riyadh. Police in Madinah have dispatched an investigation unit to the coastal city of Umlaj, about 110 km north of Yanbu, Al-Madinah reported. The report says the unit is trying to track down the killers and have been conducting an intensive search of the region this past week. The report said authorities believe the killers are hiding somewhere in this region, home to many small villages and rugged terrain. Authorities have set up checkpoints on roads throughout the area. Worshippers in the Prophet's mosque in Madinah performed funeral prayers for the two French men who died following the attack on them yesterday along the Madinah/Tabuk road. They were part of a group of expatriates of French nationality returning from a countryside journey and heading for Makkah to perform Umrah (minor pilgrimage). On the other hand Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, minister of interior, and his deputy Prince Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz, have sent their condolences to the families of the victims of the civil defence plane crash in Wadi Al Dawaser, southern Saudi Arabia, it was reported. During a visit to the families of the victims of the unfortunate incident, Prince Mohammed Bin Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, assistant minister of interior for security affairs, who was accompanied by the director general of civil defence Lieutenant General Saad Bin Abdullah Al-Tuwaijri, said he was conveying the condolences and sympathy of Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz and Prince Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz on the sad accident that claimed the lives of Col. Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Ghaith, Lieutenant Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Mansour, Sergeant Turki Bin Motlaq Al Sibaiee and Sergeant Abdul Aziz Bin Saud Al-Isaigea. He appealed to almighty Allah to accept them as martyrs of duty.