Dubai: Police in Kuwait dispersed what they described as a riot by stranded Egyptians unable to return home amid the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said early Monday. The development was the first such reported sign of unrest.
Online videos purported to show Kuwaiti police firing tear gas at the demonstrators overnight.
The KUNA news agency called the confrontation a “riot” carried out by Egyptians corralled at a group shelter. “Security officials intervened and took control, arresting a number of them,” the KUNA report said.
It did not acknowledge what level of force police used to put down the unrest, nor how many people authorities ultimately arrested after the incident.
Videos purported to show the Egyptians in a shelter, armed with pieces of furniture at one point of the confrontation. The shelter appeared to be in an industrial setting, surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.
KUNA earlier quoted Egypt’s ambassador to Kuwait as saying that Cairo planned repatriation flights for those stranded later this week. Kuwaiti officials also have said they would suspend fines and jail time for those who had overstayed visas in order to help those wanting to leave return to their home countries.
Some 35 million labourers work in the Gulf states, as well as in Jordan and Lebanon, according to UN figures.
In all, countries in the Middle East have reported more than 339,000 cases of coronavirus, with at least 11,310 deaths, more than half of them in Iran. In Sudan, the state minister for transportation and infrastructure, Hashim Bin Auf, tested positive, the highest-ranking official to do so, the government said late Sunday. Sudan has reported 678 cases and 41 deaths from the virus.
