RIYADH/DAMMAM, 7 December 2004 — The American Embassy in Riyadh and its Consulates General in Jeddah and Dhahran will remain closed today to the public and its nationals in the Kingdom have been advised to exercise utmost care in their security precautions in the wake of the attack on the US Consulate in Jeddah. Only essential staff will be at these diplomatic facilities and only emergency consular services for American citizens will be available.
In a security warning issued by the US mission in the capital yesterday, its citizens have been strongly urged to review the current travel warning for Saudi Arabia dated Oct. 27. The travel warning points out that although counter-terrorism efforts have succeeded in diminishing terrorist capabilities in Saudi Arabia, terrorist groups continue to target housing compounds, hotels, methods of transportation, and commercial establishments where Westerners can be found.
Saudi government facilities are also targets. In addition to car bombs and armed assaults involving multiple gunmen against such facilities, terrorists have also used ambush attacks to kidnap and/or assassinate individual Westerners.
American citizens who choose to visit or remain in Saudi Arabia are strongly urged to avoid staying in hotels or housing compounds that do not apply stringent security measures including, but not limited to, the presence of an armed guard force, inspection of all vehicles, and a hardened security perimeter to prevent unauthorized vehicles from approaching the facility.
Describing the incident at the Jeddah consulate, American Ambassador James C. Oberwetter said this was another example of how far people have to go in the war against terror. “This morning a group of armed men attacked the US Consulate General in Jeddah. The consulate compound is now secure,” the envoy said. Oberwetter registered his condolences to the four of the locally engaged staff and one of the mission’s contract guard who were killed in the incident. “Four more of our locally engaged staff are hospitalized. All of American officers are accounted for. There were no American casualties,” Oberwetter said.
After the attack on the US Consulate in Jeddah, security in the Eastern Province was dramatically heightened. Students at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) were forced to enter the university campus from the gate near Saudi Aramco. The campus’s main gate near the American Consulate was inaccessible due to roads surrounding the consulate being blocked by security forces. Even within the KFUPM campus, roads adjacent to the consulate were closed. Saudi Aramco security was also increased with congestion reported at main access points to the oil giant.
Traffic was diverted away from highway exits leading to Dhahran Road near the US Consulate. The US Consulate was cordoned off completely and while operations within the facility continued, no one was allowed in or out. There was relief on the part of hundreds of parents when a decision was eventually made to bring in school buses to transport students home from three schools at the International Schools Group Campus adjacent to the US Consulate.
It is not only government facilities that have upgraded their security in the Kingdom over the past few months. Office complexes, compounds and hotels are just some of the businesses that have made security a priority in their operations.
“Incidents of violence can happen anywhere. The fact is that Saudi Arabia still remains one of the safest countries in the world,” said Muhammed Osman, director of sales and marketing, Le Gulf Meridien Hotel, Alkhobar.
