Nepali workers in Saudi Arabia are worried about their safety as attacks attributed to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels target oil facilities, airports and other critical infrastructure across the kingdom.
On Wednesday, October 21, a Nepali worker and a Filipino national were killed when debris from a drone intercepted by Saudi air defences fell on a vehicle at a Saudi Aramco project in Shaybah, in the Eastern Province. A Pakistani and an Indian worker were injured in the incident.
According to a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry, air defences intercepted a drone targeting an oil processing facility. Debris from the drone fell on a contractor’s vehicle, causing a fire that killed the two workers. The incident did not affect operations at the oil field.
Four days after the incident, the Nepali worker’s identity and home address had still not been made public.
Nepal’s foreign ministry condemned the attack. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of a Nepali citizen after debris fell from a drone intercepted by air defence systems during a drone attack on the Shaybah oil field of Saudi Aramco,” the ministry said in a statement issued on October 22. “Nepal reiterates its unequivocal and firm condemnation of all forms of attacks targeting civilians and critical infrastructure.”
Later on Wednesday evening, another attack struck King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, also in eastern Saudi Arabia. Two people, a Saudi national and an Indian national, were killed, while eight others, including a Nepali worker, were injured, according to the kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation.
The Nepali worker sustained minor injuries and returned to his camp after receiving treatment, a relative told Kantipur by phone.
“He was outside the airport. His injuries were minor,” the relative said.
Security concerns have grown since late September as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia. The group has launched repeated strikes against oil facilities, airports and other important infrastructure.
“We never imagined Saudi Arabia would become so unstable,” said Ritesh Mandal, from Dhanusha, who has worked in the Dammam area for two decades. “You never know when or where an attack might happen. Whenever a warning message comes to my phone telling me to stay alert, my heart starts pounding. I feel scared.”
According to an AFP tally based on official figures, Houthi attacks had killed 22 people in Saudi Arabia by October 22.
On October 10, an attack on the passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people immediately. An Indian national who was injured in the attack died the following day, while 309 people were injured.
A further attack on the Riyadh airport on October 12 killed a Pakistani national and injured 11 others. An attack on Abha airport on October 6 killed two people and injured 28. The airport had also been targeted by missile and drone attacks in July.
On September 17, a person was killed and two others injured in Taif after debris fell when Saudi air defences intercepted a Houthi drone.
Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure has also come under repeated attack, adding to the concerns of Nepalis employed at oil and gas facilities.
“Saudi Arabia is where we earn our living. We have jobs here,” said Ujjwal Majhi, from Sunsari, who works at an Aramco project. “Earlier, our main concern was work. Now we have to worry about our safety as well.”
Majhi estimates that at least 50,000 Nepalis work across various Aramco projects. Around 60 percent of Nepali workers in areas including Dammam and Jizan are employed on Aramco projects through different supply companies, he said.
“It is not yet a situation where we need to panic, but we can no longer move around without worrying,” he said.
Bhupendra Aryal, a Nepali worker based in Riyadh, said falling debris from intercepted drones posed a particular danger, even when air defence systems successfully stopped the incoming weapons.
“Saudi Arabia’s air defence systems intercept drones in the sky, but people are dying when debris falls to the ground,” he said. “As the security risk increases, there needs to be a plan to alert Nepali workers, rescue them or move them to safer places.”
Workers also say the attacks on airports have disrupted travel to and from Nepal.
“The airport itself has become unsafe, and direct flights to Nepal are not operating,” said a Nepali employee of a travel agency. “Some colleagues who need to return home urgently have started travelling through Qatar or Bahrain.”
The disruption comes as recruitment of Nepali workers for Saudi Arabia has already slowed. According to the Department of Foreign Employment, the number of workers newly recruited for Saudi Arabia fell by 57.2 percent between mid-March and mid-September compared with the same period last year, following an escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran.
With Saudi Arabia now directly facing attacks, further reductions in overseas recruitment are possible. Around 400,000 Nepalis are currently working in the kingdom.
Hom Karki is a reporter with two decades experience covering migrant workers issues and the Nepali diaspora. He was previously based in the Gulf for Kantipur Daily.
