Refugees Flock to Saudi Camps
2009-11-17 10:14
Life in Saudi Arabia's Ahad al Masahara refugee camp is anything but easy.
Its inhabitants are among the tens of thousands forced to flee their villages to escape fighting between Saudi forces and Yemeni rebels.
[Aum Mohammed, Refugee]:
"We have a war there, a war on the border. Airplanes above us, hospitals have been destroyed and they have demolished houses. They tore down the buildings, they tore down the school. We are on the border of Yemen."
The refugee crisis intensified when Saudi forces launched an offensive against rebels who seized Saudi territory along their joint border.
The rebels accused Saudi Arabia of allowing Yemeni troops to use the territory to attack their positions.
But the surge of people displaced by the fighting has led to serious overcrowding in the camps.
[Ahmed Hazazi, Refugee]:
"As you see, when a family of 10 or 17 or two families together are living in a tent no more than two or three meters long, it's a disgusting situation."
The United Nations says at least 175, 000 people have been displaced by the conflict in north Yemen.
It's voiced concern at the escalation in the fighting.
The violence has flared on and off for four years between Yemeni troops and the rebels who say the country's Zaidi Shi'ite minority suffers discrimination and neglect.
