The dark secrets of £400,000,000,000 The Line megacity being built in the desert
A Saudi Arabian senior security official – who fled to London – has lifted the lid on the sinister side of the kingdom’s £400 billion megacity called Neom.
Rabih Alenezi, who had worked for the security service for 20 years, alleges he was told to ‘kill’ people refusing to be relocated to make room for The Line, part of the eco-project.
It is reported that more than 6,000 people have been evicted from their homes in the Gulf, with harrowing repercussions for those who refuse to obey orders.
One of the villagers protesting against all the ongoing evictions was subsequently gunned down, according to the BBC.
Col Alenezi, who sought asylum in the UK after claiming to have been ordered to carry out human rights violations, told the BBC that orders stated that ‘whoever continues to resist [eviction] should be killed, so it licensed the use of lethal force against whoever stayed in their home’.
Satellite images show homes, schools and hospitals demolished in the villages of Sharma, Gayal and al-Khuraybah, where he was ordered to carry out the mission.
‘The Dark Side of Neom’, a 2023 report from human rights group Alqst, said that 47 members of the Howeitat tribe have been arrested or detained.
Of those, 40 remain in detention, five of whom are on death row, the organisation says.
Authorities insist that those required to move for the megacity have been offered compensation.
Launched in 2017 by crown prince Bin Salman, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south of Jordan.
The total planned area of Neom is 10,000 square miles in the Tabuk Province, traditionally inhabited by the Howeitat tribe.
Displacement of tribespeople has been ongoing for three years to make room for the megacity.
But the figures paid out have been much lower than the amount promised, it has been reported by Alqst.
Col Alenezi said: ‘[Neom] is the centrepiece of Bin Salman’s ideas. That is why he was so brutal in dealing with the Huwaitat.’
He is one of the highest ranked defectors from Saudi Arabia in recent history, and still receives death threats for speaking out against the regime.
Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti was one of the people who refused to allow a valuation of his property.
He was shot dead by Saudi authorities a day later, during the clearance mission that Col Alenezi referred to.
The United Nations confirmed he was killed simply for resisting, but a statement issued by Saudi state security at the time alleged al-Huwaiti had opened fire on security forces.
Aerial images show released by the kindom show what the futuristic city would look like once completed.
The Line will feature mirrored skyscrapers, an artificial mountain and ski resort, an octagonal floating port, a dedicated swimming lane for commuters as well as a sophisticated AI and robots network designed to serve its uber-rich residents.
More than 100,000,000 cubic metres of sand have been moved as contractors excavate the 75-mile canyon.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Neom for a comment on the allegations.
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