Riyadh (dpa) – The Saudi Interior Ministry announced Monday the names of 23 rioters wanted on charges of carrying out a “foreign agenda” in the kingdom's eastern province. “For the past few months, rioters possessing firearms from the mainly Shiite area have tried to drag innocent civilians in absurd confrontations with security forces with the aim of carrying out a foreign agenda,” the interior ministry said. All 23 are Shiite Saudi nationals from the eastern region, which recently has held several protests over discrimination in the Sunni-majority kingdom. However, the ministry's spokesman, Mansour al-Turki, said on state television that “the outlaws are few and do not represent the eastern region,” adding that some of those wanted for arrest hold criminal records. He also called on citizens to inform the authorities of any other rioters, offering rewards. Last November, four people were killed in clashes between “rioters” and security forces in the kingdom's eastern region of al-Qatif. Nine other Saudis were also injured in the protests, including one woman. Although al-Turki refused to name Iran as being behind the riots, Saudi authorities have repeatedly accused its neighbor of trying to foment chaos and undermine the country's security. In demonstrations that broke out last October, Riyadh accused Tehran of paying protesters in the oil-rich eastern region to confront government security forces, leaving 14 people injured. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/wCG0O Tags: Activists, Shia Section: Latest News, Saudi Arabia
