FriendlyExpat

I felt very safe in Saudi until recently, but the last few weeks have me a little concerned:

- sunnis shooting large numbers of shias in the eastern province this week with follow up killings in qassim
- 2 vinnell americans being shot in riyadh, 1 dead and rumours that it was a "random" attack (not job related as claimed by authorities)
- loads of new police checkpoints near compounds in recent weeks. I assume they are there for a reason,
- ISIS emerging in Syria/Iraq and stirring discntent in saudi.
- USA air strikes in Syria.
- stories of arrests and foiled plots in recent weeks/months.

I hope I am just being paranoid but I do feel slightly nervous. Please reassure me!

Gobobo

I don't think big cities in Saudi are more dangerous than those in other countries. Quite the opposite, in fact. I'd be surprised if anyone could name a city or big conurbation that us murder or violent crime free.

northbadawi

More chances to be killed US schools nowadays than anywhere in Saudi Arabia:
List of school shootings in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abdussalam

An official who investigated the incident said that what happened to the Americans who got shot by the Saudi has no connection to terrorism or Al-Qaeda. In fact, it was a personal conflict. They were working together in the same company and the attacker was fired from his job. Also, "The Americans were employees of Vinnell Arabia, and were shot about a kilometer from its facility in the city", said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

flares

To be fair it wouldn't be too hard to pick off a Westerner or two in or around Riyadh. A few of the ex-pat guys I knocked around with when I was there seemed to have little concern for security.

sicklyman

yeah you can't be too careful. You should be really worried.

To help with that, I have with some suggestions:

• limit your reading to only news reports associated with crime and violence, preferably only in Saudi and it's immediate neighbours. What you want to avoid is any sense of balance or objective comparison.
• While you read, take mangeable quantities of casualties like "5" and replace them with vague but far more serious quantities, like "large numbers" or "loads".
• Take each incident and assume that it is the rule, not the exception
• Do not consider each of these incidents in isolation. There are always causal factors that link each with another. You just need to look hard enough.
• Above all, as you live and work in Saudi, try to do so without leaving home and report any suspicious characters you see to the police immediately, especially if they have dark skin.

That should do it.

Tramps_mate

A guy was killed in Wales, should I worry when I go to scotland?

FriendlyExpat

From what I am hearing, this explanation is not accurate in certain respects. I try to avoid paranoia, but 4 relatively major incidents in 10 days (including a mostly unreported shootout near to Ikea in Riyadh on the East Ring Road) coupled with the regional political situation is a concern. There are a lot of extremists here and most compound security setups are not perfect. Hopefully things will settle down soon.

sicklyman

no but you should definitely avoid any location called Corniche as not only does this start with the same letter as the Welsh capital, it also has two syllables.

Coincidence? I think not.

FriendlyExpat

A danish expat was shot and injured near Ikea in Riyadh today. Confirmed by US embassy.

Danish Citizen Injured in Gun Attack in Riyadh, SPA Reports - Bloomberg

nonthaburi

I have noticed a few more police checkpoints on the roads recently around Riyadh. But it seems like they are either looking for illegals or checking that young Saudis have driving licenses etc

super_hans

Certainly increased security at the British and US consulate here in Jeddah, also I notice an increased presence at some of the compounds....do I worry, nah.

flares

Any further news on this? Hope it wanst one of the Henning Larssen guys. I wasn't tempting fate with my previous post

NewCaledonia

Scary...

norsk

This isn't great stuff either..

Saudi Arabia says ISIL ordered attack in Eastern Province - Arabian Business