Posters of sumptuous villas and palm-fringed boulevards hang in the battle-scarred old quarter of Awamiya, symbols of a controversial Saudi plan to redevelop the Shia-majority town which triggered months of deadly clashes.
2017 photo of Awamiya. Copyright AFP.
Saudi Arabia prides itself on stability in a wider Middle East torn apart by conflict and strife, but Awamiya — on the kingdom’s oil-rich east coast — has a longstanding reputation of resistance to Sunni rule.
Saudi state media has now confirmed completion of its campaign to drive all pockets of Shia resistance out of Awamiya and is currently maintaining a heavy troop presence in the town.
It’s unclear how many local Shia militants were engaged in the fighting, but it appears the military brought its full weight to bear against the contested Almosara neighborhood which forms Awamiya’s historic, walled “old city” section.
As ZeroHedge reported in August of 2017, the Saudi military utilized: “…air power, heavy artillery, RPGs, snipers and armored assault vehicles in the area. Earlier this year the Saudi regime announced plans to demolish the neighborhood and hand it over to private developers in a kind of Saudi version of “eminent domain”; however, the presence of Shia militants hiding amidst its narrow roads and concealed alleyways appears the be the real motive for razing the district.”
ZeroHedge continued: “So it appears there is a two-fold motive for the Saudi state’s aggressive military takeover: forcibly change the Shia demographic – a form of religiously motivated genocide, while at the same time claiming the area is needed for “property development” in a land grab that is sure to enrich developers close to the Saudi royal family. None of this, however, is taking place in secret or completely hidden from public view.”
“Awamiya’s (residents) want government investment in their communities, but more than that they’re demanding an end to discrimination,” said Adam Coogle, a HRW researcher. “Saudi Arabia’s violent approach to destroying the Musawara neighbourhood and the many allegations of harm to residents during the process are unlikely to reassure Saudi Shia that the state has their best interests in mind.”
The town’s acting mayor Essam Al Mulla brushed aside criticism from the United Nations that the destruction would erase the neighbourhood’s “unique regional heritage”, saying that efforts were in place to maintain ancient structures including traditional wells.
All renderings courtesy of government-owned developer Al-Arabiya.