Saudi forces ‘told to kill’ to clear land for The Line

According to an ex-intelligence officer called Rabih Alenezi (he currently resides in the UK after seeking asylum), who spoke to the BBC, Saudi authorities have permitted the use of ‘lethal force’ to clear space for The Line, which is being developed by dozens of Western companies.

Lifting the lid on the project’s sinister side, the whistle-blower’s testimony outlines that he was ordered to evict villagers from the Gulf state, one of whom was shot dead for refusing to allow a land registry committee to value his property.

Satellite images obtained by the BBC show the destruction in the village of Sharma, where many of the homes, schools, and hospitals that made up the town have been completely wiped out since building began.

Alenezi says that before he fled the country he was asked to enact a clearance order for an area 4.5km south of The Line, which is mostly occupied by the Huwaitat tribe and has been for generations.

He dodged the mission on invented medical grounds, he told the BBC, but it nevertheless went ahead.

Issued in 2020, the clearance order branded the Huwaitat tribe as ‘rebels’ and warned that ‘whoever resists eviction should be killed.’

Saudi forces were ‘licensed to kill’ to evict villagers for NEOM – the futuristic, eco-city – an ex-intelligence officer told us.

We spoke to former execs who called it a climate disaster and a UK company who pulled out of a £100m contract in The Line.

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— Merlyn Thomas (@MerlynThomas) May 9, 2024

At least 47 other villagers were detained after resisting evictions, many of whom were prosecuted on terror-related charges, according to the UN. Of those, 40 remain in detention, five of whom are on death row, ALQST says.

Saudi authorities claim that those asked to move have been offered compensation, but ALQST reports that the figures paid out have been substantially less than those initially pledged.

‘NEOM is the centrepiece of Mohamed Bin Salman’s ideas,’ says Alenezi.

‘That’s why he was so brutal in dealing with the Huwaitat. He will let nothing stand in the way. I started to become more worried about what I might be asked to do to my own people.’

The future of The Line is now, understandably, in jeopardy.