Kill anyone who gets in the way of The Line: Saudi security forces ‘are permitted to EXECUTE villagers who refuse to be evicted to make way for futuristic desert city’
Saudi authorities have ordered troops to shoot dead villagers who refused to leave their homes to make way for the construction of a 170-kilometer megacity, an exiled Saudi intelligence officer has claimed.
Colonel Rabih Alenezi, who has taken refuge in Britain to hide from retaliation, claims at least one villager has been killed and several others jailed after refusing to give up their land for the futuristic desert city that is known as ‘The Line’.
The massive undertaking is the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman and the centerpiece of NEOM – an ambitious $1 trillion project that aims to transform the Saudi desert into a new world eco-city that will “change the way redefines people’s lives’ and thus the Kingdom’s economy will rid itself of oil in this process.
The Line, which will take the form of two mirror-encased skyscrapers stretching 170 kilometers through the desert, is expected to have a population of one million by 2030, with a long-term capacity of nine million.
But Bloomberg reported earlier this year that only 300,000 people are expected to live there by the end of the decade – and that only 2.5 kilometers of the skyscrapers are likely to be completed.
Saudi Arabia has been forced to scale back its $1.5 trillion plans for a 170-kilometer linear desert city (shown in concept images), according to a Bloomberg report
The Line is featured in a concept video released by Saudi Arabia, showing the two massive structures stretching into the distance
Colonel Rabih Alenezi, who has taken refuge in Britain to hide from retaliation, claims at least one villager has been killed and several more jailed after he refused to give up his land.
Aerial photos show construction work on the Saudi linear city project
The designs show bright neon lights in the city of the future which, if construction goes according to plan, could be completed as early as 2030
Concept photos show the imagined view between the two superstructures of The Line
Saudi Prince Mohamed bin Salman
Bin Salman has previously said that Saudi Arabia’s vast desert provides the perfect “blank canvas” on which The Line can be built.
Computer renderings of the project reveal a sight to behold: a pair of enormous metal and glass structures stretching endlessly across the sandy expanses full of futuristic-looking living spaces, shops and gardens, with a brand new marina welcoming ships from all corners of the world. globe.
But Colonel Alenezi disputes the claim.
The colonel said he was tasked with leading a unit to clear several villages to make way for diggers and bulldozers preparing the land for construction in al-Khuraybah, in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk region, in the spring of 2020 .
These villages housed thousands of members of the Huwaitat tribe.
Colonel Alenezi said the April 2020 order described the Huwaitat as “rebels” and further stated that “whoever continues to resist [eviction] should be killed, so it authorized the use of lethal force against anyone staying in their home.”
He said he only managed to avoid carrying out his orders on medical grounds, but said the mission went ahead anyway.
One villager, Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, was shot dead after refusing to allow authorities to appraise his house, while hundreds of other villagers were jailed.
“Mohamed Bin Salman will not let anything stand in the way of building Neom… I became increasingly concerned about what I would be asked to do with my own people,” he told the newspaper. BBC.
His claims are consistent with investigations into the NEOM project conducted by Saudi rights group ALQST, which published a dossier detailing their findings last year.
“The Saudi authorities have committed a wide range of serious human rights violations,” the report said.
‘ALQST’s investigation concluded that in order to realize this project, Saudi authorities illegally evicted local tribes without offering adequate compensation or alternative housing, and cracked down on tribal members who peacefully resisted or resisted eviction oppose that.
‘Since the infamous killing of local resident Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti during a raid by special forces on his home in 2020, ALQST has documented the arbitrary arrests and unfair trials of other members of the tribe, several of whom have recently been sentenced to lengthy prison terms . prison sentences or even execution.’
MailOnline has contacted NEOM for comment.
The Line has been pitched as a new vision of urban design – with computer-generated promotional material that makes it look like something out of a sci-fi movie
The metropolis appears invisible, floating above a marina, in one confusing artist’s impression of the plans
A promotional video released by the Kingdom suggested that nine million people could live in The Line at full capacity (depicted in concept art).
The Line – part of the country’s bold and futuristic NEOM project – was expected to be 170 kilometers long and house 1.5 million residents by the end of the decade. According to Bloomberg, plans have been scaled back, with The Line now only 1.5 miles long
NEOM as a whole remains one of the largest and most difficult construction projects in history – the region will cover an area of desert the size of Belgium – and as such its feasibility has been questioned.
Architect and urban planner Etienne Bou-Abdo said last year about bold concept images: “The 3D images presented are not classic 3D architectural images,” and the project’s designers “have previously called on video game designers.”
He stated that the plan includes “a lot of technology that we don’t have today.”
After interviewing 25 employees and reviewing 2,700 pages of internal documents, a Bloomberg report in 2022 said the project was plagued by setbacks.
Attempts to relocate the indigenous population, who have lived at the NEOM site for generations, were described as ‘turbulent’, with one incident even ending in a gun battle.
There was also frequent staff turnover, with some former employees describing the vision for NEOM as ‘detached from reality’.
Several key executives have resigned, blaming a toxic work environment and a culture of massive overspending without results.
The construction of some of NEOM’s more imaginative elements must now also be balanced with other commitments, including pre-construction work. FIFA World Cup 2034.
Saudi Arabia has ten years to build the necessary stadiums and increase its accommodation and transport capacity, while also trying to meet NEOM targets.
Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington said projects related to specific events would likely be prioritized.
“The Saudis would not be able to move 100 miles per hour in all directions indefinitely on the development front,” he said, adding that Riyadh needs consistent, sustainable growth in foreign investment from various sectors.
“It’s no secret that they haven’t achieved that yet.”