Saudi security forces killed a young protester and wounded three in the kingdom's oil-producing Eastern Province, home to a large Shia Muslim minority, websites and activists said on Friday. Saudi Arabia, the world's No 1 oil exporter, is sensitive to any Shia unrest in Eastern Province because of what it says are concerns it could be fomented by non-Arab Shia power Iran to destabilise the Gulf region. Tehran denies involvement.
The Shia website www.rasid.com said Saudi security forces opened heavy fire late on Thursday after protesters threw stones at a police vehicle in Awamiya, a village in Eastern Province. It showed a file picture of 22-year-old Essam Mohamed Abu Abdallah and said he was killed by gunfire from security forces. A Saudi Interior Ministry statement quoted by state news agency SPA said security forces patrolling Awamiya in their vehicle were attacked with petrol bombs and it caught fire. "While the security forces were trying to control the fire, they were exposed to shooting and were dealing with the situation as necessary," it said.