http://sg.news.yahoo.com/011018/1/1kq7k.html Thursday October 18, 8:08 PM
Up to 100 bin Laden men arrested in Saudi: opposition
DUBAI, Oct 18 (AFP) - Saudi authorities have arrested 80-100 activists on suspicion of links with prime terror suspect Osama bin Laden, a Saudi opposition group told AFP on Thursday.
Saad al-Faqih, who heads the London-based Movement for Islamic Reform (MIR), said the men were so-called "Afghan Arabs" who took part in the jihad, or holy war, against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s alongside bin Laden.
He spoke after Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz warned of a crackdown on supporters and sympathizers of the Saudi-born dissident, Washington's chief suspect in the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Nayef said these people were "ill and cannot be accepted in Saudi society, even if they were part of us. Some organs of the body may become ill, but the sick organ is amputated."
Faqih described Nayef's warning as unprecedented, saying it showed that Saudi Arabia's leaders felt as vulnerable as their American allies in the kingdom.
"It never happened before that a member of the ruling family addressed a direct warning to the public," he said.
According to MIR sources, Riyadh has also asked other Gulf monarchies to be notified if any Saudi man entered their countries after a large number among 5,000 Saudis who have gone to Gulf states over the past month could no longer be traced.
"The assumption is that they went on to Pakistan or perhaps Iran en route for Afghanistan," Faqih said in a telephone interview.
"There are daily rumors about demonstrations in Saudi Arabia but they cannot be confirmed," he added.
Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, also based in London, reported Thursday that police violently broke up a gathering of people intending to demonstrate in support of bin Laden in the holy city of Mecca.
Faqih said MIR had been able to confirm that a demonstration against the US-led war on Afghanistan took place a week ago in the town of Sakaka, in the Al-Jawf area of northern Saudi Arabia, and was forcibly dispersed by riot police, who detained dozens of protestors.
He said authorities are on alert for planned demonstrations and have stationed security forces in many regions.
In another recent incident, unidentified people stormed an arms depot in the Hawiyya area southwest of the city of Taef and reportedly made away with unspecified weapons.