The United States knew about the killings of migrants by Saudi forces earlier than expected

State Department says diplomats in Riyadh learned of atrocities from research groups last summer, contradicting an earlier statement that the United States was not informed until December.< /p>

The State Department said that American diplomats in Saudi Arabia had heard for the first time reports of a dramatic increase in deadly violence against migrants and asylum seekers by that country's border forces during the summer of last year. and immediately asked officials at "high levels" of the Saudi government to investigate.

The department made the disclosure in a Thursday night statement to The New York Times in response . to questions posed earlier this week about the US government's knowledge of the reported violence and its working relationship with Saudi border forces. These forces have been accused in recent weeks of killing hundreds, if not thousands, of African migrants as they attempted to cross from Yemen into the kingdom.

This statement was the first time the State Department has publicly acknowledged that it has been aware since last summer of the upsurge in killings by Saudi forces. This contradicts a statement from the agency last weekend that the US government first heard "allegations of abuse" when the United Nations made public disclosures in December.

The State Department also said Thursday that the U.S. government helped train Saudi border forces from 2015 to 2023, but insisted it focused on training on the water for sea guards and did not include land border guards.

These revelations caught the attention of US lawmakers, some of whom believe the US government should cut arms sales to Saudi Arabia, a longtime partner frequently accused of human rights abuses, and cut other aspects of US-Saudi relations. security and defense cooperation.

Congressional scrutiny comes as President Biden and his aides mull over whether to strike a defense deal solid and civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia and to sell it was more advanced weapons as part of an effort to get the country to normalize relations with Israel.

On Saturday, after The Times reported that US diplomats had known about the killings since at least last fall, the State Department issued a statement claiming that the US government had heard of the charges first made in December.

Now the State Department says that US Embassy officials in Riyadh heard about the killings from groups non-governmental research group that summer and then spoke with his Saudi counterparts. state in Washington in November, according to a person who was present at the briefing and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations. And in December, the UN provided an oral briefing to Steven H. Fagin, the US Ambassador to Yemen. At that time, the United Nations was also sharing information with other members of the State Department and with diplomats from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the European Union, the person said. .

The killings have drawn international attention in recent weeks due to a Human Rights Watch report released on August 21 that includes detailed documentation of the deadly violence Saudi forces against mostly Ethiopian migrants. The researchers and the migrants they interviewed accuse Saudi border forces of firing explosive projectiles at the migrants, killing hundreds, if not thousands, of them in the 15 months that ended in June. The Saudi government has denied the accusations, saying they "are unfounded and not based on reliable sources".