Alwaght- Saudi regime military bulldozers have virtually destroyed Awamiyah to the ground amid the deadly crackdown on the besieged Shiite town, forcing hundreds of its residents to flee their homes.
According to the Middle East Eye, hundreds of people have fled or been evacuated from Awamiyah since the current violence began with activists say that residents have been driven out of their homes and their properties seized by the Riyadh regime, primarily in and around the historic al-Mosara district.
Awamiyah has long been a flashpoint for protests by Saudi's Shiite Muslims - the influential Islamic scholar Nimr al-Nimr, who was unjustly executed by the Saudi regime in 2016 for demanding the legitimate rights of the region’s residents, came from the town and demonstrations and unrest has been frequent.
Local activists accuse security forces of driving residents out of Awamiyha by firing randomly towards homes and cars as they confront armed men in the area, charges Saudi Arabia denies.
They said several houses and shops have been burned or damaged by the fighting. Video posted online appears to shown much of the city reduced to rubble.
Much of the city has been left without electricity, water, rubbish collection or fire services. Private generators have been badly damaged by shooting and those remaining in the city face intense summer heat without air conditioning.
Although local committees have been set up to try to maintain some services, it is becoming increasing difficult for many residents to stay in the city.
Andrew Hammond, a consultant on West Asia politics, said that the emptying of Awamiyah could be part of a strategy to enact demographic change in the restive Shite region of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi forces started their brutal attack on Awamiyah town on May 10, using helicopter gunships and heavy weapons. The Saudi regime claims the aim of the raid is to allow ‘renovation’ of the historic al-Mosara neighborhood to make way for a planned a new project.
Several policemen have been killed in attacks by militants since that demolition work began.
The planned "renovation" of the historic 400-year old al-Mosara district has been highly controversial. In April, the United Nations called on the Saudi government to halt the project, warning that it threatened "the historical and cultural heritage of the town with irreparable harm".
Meanwhile, the international community including mainstream Western media outlets have remained indifferent to the ethnic cleansing in Awamiyah. Western countries including, Britain, US and Canada continue to supply Wahabbi Saudi regime with weapons and tactics used to clamp down on dissent in the Shiite majority region.
