Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested at least 400 mostly African illegal migrants south of the capital Riyadh, local media reported on Friday. The authorities have been cracking down on illegal migrants since the expiration in November of a seven-month amnesty during which they had to regularise their status or leave the kingdom.
Some operations in the crackdown have sparked deadly clashes. The Arab News reported that "more than 400 undocumented expatriates, including women and children living in the Manfuha district (of Riyadh)... were rounded up during operations" early on Thursday. The daily quoted a police official in the capital as saying that the migrants were arrested for "various offences, such as overstaying their visas, running away from sponsors and looking for employment". They will be subject to fines and deportation depending on each case, the Arab News quoted police sources as saying.