Eurasia Review-April 12, 2013

http://www.eurasiareview.com/12042013-saudi-arabia-building-wall-at-border-with-yemen/

Saudi Arabian authorities have started building a partition wall along the border with Yemen, whose final length is expected to reach about 2,000 kilometers. The wall shall extend from the Red Sea to the south-eastern border of Saudi Arabia, up to the border with Oman.

The decision – claims the ‘Aden Tribune’ – was taken in view of the deteriorating situation in neighboring Yemen after the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in February 2012. The barrier’s main purpose will be to prevent the passage of illegal immigrants, drug traffickers and smugglers who try to illegally cross the border and enter Saudi territory.

Five Saudi soldiers, meanwhile, were killed in fire exchanges, with armed men in what has become an increasingly frequent phenomenon along the border. According to the local press, the first phase of the wall has already been completed.