Saudi Arabia, a country that is increasingly casting itself as a modern, global power — from hosting major sport to directing mega-development projects — is now facing damning claims of very serious human rights abuses. Ethiopian migrants attempting to enter Saudi Arabia from Yemen between 2019 and 2024 have described harrowing experiences, including mass killings, rape, torture and systematic abuse by Saudi border forces. These accusations are stark and raise immediate questions about the Kingdom’s commitment to fundamental human dignity and international law.
Bloodshed on the Border: Testimonies of Terror
Various news portals underpinned by credible testimonies reveal disturbing accounts of Saudi border guards using indiscriminate violence against unarmed migrants. Survivors reached echoing accounts of machine-gun fire as they crossed treacherous ground at night.
“I saw three people die next to me personally,”
one Ethiopian migrant said.
“One leg was blown off by the fire of the Saudis. Body parts of the wounded, body parts of the dead were around me.”
Even another survivor recalling decomposing bodies encountered along the road described the journey as a nightmare.
- Machine guns and artillery were fired on migrants.
- The victims, many of whom were killed or fell off cliffs escaping, included women and children.
- Some among them were captured and sexually assaulted.
In one particularly harrowing account, two young girls were killed by gunfire, one shot in the chest, the other shot in the neck while trying to escape gunfire. No one knows if their bodies were ever found or buried.
Rape, Torture and Crimes Against Humanity
The savagery extended beyond murders. Multiple migrants accused officials of sexual violence and torture, including reports of rape of women by men dressed in Saudi border guard uniforms. One case cited last year by Human Rights Watch (HRW) describes a teenage boy, forced by Saudi guards to rape two girls who had survived an explosion. A second Ethiopian man was reportedly killed for failing to do the same.
“There is a whole culture of impunity and unaccountability at the border,” said Nadia Hardman, one of the authors of the HRW report.
HRW’s 2023 report stated that between March 2022 and June 2023, Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers in what it called a “widespread and systematic” pattern of abuse, which it said may have risen to crimes against humanity.
Behind the Numbers: The Migrant Crisis
Saudi Arabia may host up to 750,000 Ethiopian migrants, with many reportedly having entered illegally. Fleeing poverty, conflict, and climate change, these people take their lives into their hands to cross deserts and seas, only to meet deadly force at the Saudi border. The number of Ethiopian migrants using this dangerous route through Yemen increased by 32% from 2022 to 2023, with nearly 97,000 people taking this route, according to the United Nations.
- Many of these migrants are fleeing civil war, famine, and unemployment in Ethiopia.
- They are now frequently the prey of traffickers and armed groups in Yemen before arriving in Saudi Arabia.
Another former rebel fighter, who fought in Ethiopia’s Tigray war, recounted being tortured by traffickers and seeing bodies of countless people who died along the trail. “There would be dead bodies on every trip, five in one place, two or three in other places. This was normal.”
A Kingdom of Fear: Life After the Crossing
Even for the few who make it across, life inside Saudi Arabia is no sanctuary. One migrant, who now works as a goatherd in the Kingdom, called his life “hell on earth.” He makes only 800 Saudi riyals (about £170) per month, most of which he sends to his family back in Ethiopia.
“I always have the fear they will return. I’m not able to sleep right,”
he said.
“The authorities can come and arrest me or even kill me anytime.”
Another migrant said he tried to cross the border four different times between 2021 and 2023. On one such attempt, he and his team — all but one of them women — were caught. Guards raped three of the women, then deported the group to Yemen.
The Disconnect Between Saudi Arabia’s Global Image and Ground Reality
As Saudi Arabia prepares to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup and pours billions into remaking its world image, these allegations highlight a stark contrast. As the Kingdom invests heavily in infrastructure and sports diplomacy, it is also being accused of a systematic campaign of killing and abusing at-risk migrants on its borders. Human Rights Watch has said that abuses will go unchecked unless the international community holds Saudi Arabia accountable.
Saudi Arabia has used its muscle and its money to get inside the diplomatic bubble, Hardman from HRW said.
“It doesn’t matter what it does — it’s the world that moves on.”
The Call for Accountability
Saudi Arabia’s actions on this border are neither isolated incidents nor one-off mistakes; they are part of a broad pattern of systemic abuse, hidden behind a wall of silence and a lack of international scrutiny. Independent access to these border regions has been limited, so it is difficult to find the extent of the atrocities. Saudi authorities, however, have blocked independent investigators and journalists from these areas and have yet to offer any credible response to the allegations. Here’s what needs to happen:
- Independent international investigation into human rights abuses on the Saudi-Yemeni border.
- Sanctions and then diplomatic pressure from global powers, the U.S., EU, and UN bodies.
- Accountability and redress for victims, including reparations and prosecution of perpetrators.
A Humanitarian Emergency in Plain Sight
The route across the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia has become a graveyard for desperate migrants — many fleeing horrific conditions in their home countries. A more successful struggle for justice and equality is repaid not with hope, but violence, death, and dehumanization.
As the Kingdom maintains its public relations charade preparatory to rebranding itself as a modern global capital, the world should not turn a blind eye to the pain and suffering that these vulnerable migrants are suffering.”
If Saudi Arabia wishes to be taken seriously in the various roles of global engagement, be it as a distributor of international sports or as a mainstream world economy, it will need to be held to the same human rights standards, accountability, and justice that any other country must live up to.