Milan (AsiaNews) – “We are certainly all shocked and worried,” said Bishop Aldo Berardi, apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia, speaking to AsiaNews in the wake of repeated attacks on Saudi Arabia launched by the Houthis in Yemen, particularly those over the weekend that “struck Riyadh airport”, killing and wounding several civilians.
A member of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (Trinitarians), the prelate was reached by phone in Kuwait, where he is currently on a pastoral visit, though his thoughts are with the communities in Saudi Arabia.
More than a million Catholics live in the country, mostly economic migrants, who are experiencing firsthand the escalating conflict between the Saudi military and pro-Iranian paramilitary forces, which are launching drone and missile raids from across the border.
From the south, the latter targeted the King Khalid International Airport, the capital’s main airport, causing it to be shut down for at least a week, hitting “many people who were travelling towards Dammam and Jeddah, including some making a personal pilgrimage,” the vicar said.
“Several people have been wounded,” he added. While “the airport is not operational for now, we are waiting to see what might happen and how the situation will develop.”
Growing Fear
The Vicariate of Northern Arabia’s jurisdiction covers four countries in the Arabian Peninsula (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia), each socially and politically different as well as in terms of religious freedom. In particular, in Saudi Arabia, no religion other than Islam is allowed, even though there is a substantial, Catholic presence, albeit low-profile.
“Dammam[*] has also come under attack,” said Bishop Berardi. “The members of the Catholic communities are all safe and are continuing their work and their prayers within their homes.”
Next week, he added, “a meeting of all the Vicariate’s priests is scheduled in Bahrain, a three-day gathering for talks and discussion we hold every October to take stock of the situation and prepare the pastoral plan for the coming year.”
This will also be an opportunity to “analyse the situation and review pastoral visits, while also planning for the future” of the local Church and its various communities.
“Regarding Saudi Arabia,” Bishop Berardi noted, “the communities in the south, in Khamis Mushait and Abha, have occasionally been disrupted by attacks launched by the Houthis in the recent past. However, no one expected such a major attack to reach the north as well,” a reference to the attack against Riyadh.
“The affected areas include Yanbu[†], home to a port and a key hub for transporting oil arriving from the east. That area, too, came under attack,” the prelate noted, “though it is unclear whether the drones came from Iraq, launched by Shia militias active there, or directly from the south, again at the hands of the Houthis.”
“What is certain is that there is a sense of unease in the population, partly because missiles and drones are arriving without any warning signals to prepare people for the attacks.”
Most victims in the weekend raids on the airport belong to the migrant community or are pilgrims passing through on their way to Makkah and Madinah, Islam’s two holiest cities and destinations for millions of Muslims.
“No one in the Catholic community has been wounded, but concern remains,” the vicar said. “Warnings to maintain a high state of alert have already been issued in Qatar; while there are no active alerts in Kuwait or Bahrain at present, a certain restlessness is palpable across the region, along with growing fear, because these attacks strike suddenly. Now, it is the turn of the Saudi kingdom”.
“The bishop’s pastoral concern is to ensure everyone is safe and that the few activities permitted can continue as usual, albeit with the customary and necessary discretion.”
The myth of security shattered
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia no longer feels safe from the war, the violence, and the instability that, until recent years, had spared the Wahhabi kingdom, fostering the development of megaprojects and a renewed leadership role in the Arab and Middle Eastern worlds.
At least, this is the prevailing view not only among certain analysts but also, and above all, among the residents of Riyadh and other parts of the country, particularly expatriates and Muslim pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj and Umrah in Makkah and Madinah.
Overnight, the Houthis launched a fresh, violent attack on Riyadh; and once again, the capital’s international airport was among the targets, with the aim of halting flights and air links with a ballistic missile. Subsequently, they targeted the King Khalid Air Base near Khamis Mushait.
Several explosions were reported during the night, while social media users posted videos showing fires in various places, although there is no independent confirmation regarding the authenticity of the footage.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister pledged a “serious” response to attacks on the kingdom’s airports as well as its oil and gas facilities. Since “The events of recent weeks are serious,” Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman stated at the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh, “Our response must be equally serious.”
However, concerns persist among ordinary citizens, migrants, and international investors who see the image of a safe haven, long promoted by Saudi leaders, crumbling, particularly regarding the wars and tensions that have marred the recent history of the Middle East and the Arab world.
More than 15 people were killed, and over 300 wounded, include pilgrims awaiting flights to Makkah (one from Bangladesh), a Syrian mother, and a US citizen.
Beyond the number of casualties, the attacks struck at the heart of the image the kingdom has cultivated, that of a safe destination for business, tourism, and international investment.
Voices from Riyadh
Over the weekend, a major energy conference drew only a handful of delegates; looming on the horizon, in just two weeks, is the Future Investment Initiative, a flagship annual economic event for a country struggling to maintain an image of stability.
Speaking to Middle East Eye, Mohamed, a British national who has lived in the capital for ten years, explained that while he still considers the kingdom a safe place, he was unsettled by the failure of the missile interception systems protecting the airport. "Riyadh," he stated, "no longer feels safe."
The crisis has also laid bare the growing tensions between Gulf states and the United States, which has abandoned the role of regional guarantor and protector it had played for decades in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Oman.
This uncertainty has heightened the importance of the Makkah Pact, signed in August by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, which aims to strengthen collective deterrence, although the timing and scale of any potential Turkish troop deployment remain unclear.
Fears regarding security and peace, which now seems like a distant memory, are compounded by concerns over economic growth and a labour market that inevitably is suffering the repercussions of the military escalation.
A Western diplomatic source in the Saudi capital, speaking on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the press, told AsiaNews that, particularly among migrants, "many are losing their jobs, while others are owed unpaid wages. A sense of unease is beginning to spread through the expatriate community (especially among Indians and Filipinos) and fears are mounting.”
Then there is the growing sense of increased surveillance, in the country.
"In recent months, police have visited certain Christian communities (Protestant, Evangelical),” the source explained. “There have even been some deportations among the faithful. Things are shifting; there is increased police monitoring in the streets and in homes, yet there are still no specific reasons or official explanations regarding this crackdown.”
In Saudi Arabia, it is advisable to exercise caution and vigilance, given both Houthi attacks from Yemen and greater internal controls on people's lives.
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[*] Dammam is in the east, where the bridge connecting the country to Bahrain is located.
[†] In the north, on the Red Sea,
