27 Ethiopians illegally resident in Saudi Arabia arrested

Authorities in Saudi Arabia late last week announced the arrest of 27 Ethiopians illegally resident in the Gulf State.

The Arab News portal reports that security agents in a town located north of the capital Riyadh undertook a swoop on a farm leading to the arrests. It added that they were arrested for residency and labour violations.

The arrested party includes 13 men and 14 women. Saudi forces are said to have formed secret teams that gathers information on undocumented residents in the country.

It is not known whether the Saudi authorities will arraign the 27 persons before court or that they will deport them.

Ethiopia was the most visible country over the last few months when Saudi issued a directive for all undocumented migrants to voluntarily leave of face arrest and prosecution.

The East African nation secured thousands of exit visas for its nationals and flew them back home. The government, however, expressed worry over the refusal of many others to take advantage of the two amnesty regimes.

Most rich Middle East countries hire thousands of domestic helpers from Africa and Asia. Most of these women often complain of abuse from their employers.