Saudi Arabia: 3 illegal Ethiopians held over Assir bushfire

Cairo: Saudi authorities have said they arrested three Ethiopian infiltrators for having set a massive fire to a mountainous area that had raged for days.

Last week, the blaze erupted in a rugged area in Jabal Ghalameh in Governorate of Tanuma in the region of Assir in south-western Saudi Arabia without causing casualties.

A spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry said that the three had triggered the fire following a dispute between them and fled the site after the spread of the blaze on an area of over 4.7 million square metres. The fire had resulted in burning large numbers of wild plants, the official said, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.

“Investigations led to determining the identities of those accused of setting the fire to the area,” the official said. “They are three Ethiopians who are violators of the border security system. They were arrested and legal procedures were taken against them,” he added without further details.

It took firefighters days to put out the Tanuma blaze and were supported by aircraft.

Firefighters had to climb the inhospitable area after their trucks had difficulty reaching it.