Only 6 militants surrender as Saudi amnesty expires
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-23 09:05

Six militants in total surrendered to Saudi authorities taking up the offer of royal amnesty which has expired, while 12 most-wanted terror suspects remained at large.

Saudi authorities hunting down militants behind a wave of deadly attacks in the kingdom did not extend the one-month amnesty despite calls for allowing militants more time to come forward.

Two suspects wanted in security-related matters surrendered on the last day of the amnesty period, bringing the total number to six. Only one is on the kingdom's 26 most-wanted list.

Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harby is pushed in a wheelchair after arriving to the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia airport in this image made from television Tuesday, July 13, 2004. [AP]

Fawzan al-Fawzan was the latest to turn himself in to authorities. He arrived late Thursday with his family in Riyadh after surrendering to the Saudi embassy in Damascus.

Another militant, Fayez al-Khushman al-Dossari turned himself in earlier the same evening in the western city of Taef, hours before the end of the amnesty offer.

Ibrahim al-Sadek al-Kaydi al-Harbi and Khaled bin Odeh bin Mohammed al-Harbi both surrendered last week and were extradited from Damascus and Tehran, respectively.

Khaled Harbi is suspected of being a top Al-Qaeda figure and close to Osama bin Laden.

Othman Hadi al-Maqbul al-Aamri, who is 19 on the wanted list, surrendered on June 28

But an active mediator between the government and terror suspects said late Thursday that the leader of Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and two other people on the country's most wanted list were willing to negotiate their surrender.

Sheikh Safar al-Hawali told AFP that Saleh Mohammed al-Oufi was ready to negotiate surrender terms along with two other unnamed suspects.

"Mediators confirmed that Oufi is willing to negotiate and they are optimistic about the results," Hawali said.

"Negotiations with the other two suspects who are also on the 26 most-wanted list started over a month ago. They prefer to remain anonymous," he added.

Oufi, a 38-year-old former policeman, was reportedly involved in the latest shoot-out between security forces and militants in Riyadh, which took place on Tuesday night.

Two extremists were killed in raids by police that also led to the discovery in a refrigerator of the head of US hostage Paul Johnson, kidnapped last month by suspected Al-Qaeda members.

The interior ministry said Oufi's wife and three children were taken to safety.

But despite refusing to extend amnesty, the interior ministry said anyone wanting to surrender but living in remote areas could declare their willingness before the deadline while procedures would be completed later.

Hawali said that he has drawn a list of suspects willing to negotiate surrender, which was to be presented to Crown Prince Abdullah Thursday before the end of the period.

"The confirmed list includes eight suspects in Saudi Arabia, and two others in Yemen", Hawali told AFP after the expiry of the amnesty.

"It was difficult to verify the willingness of around 15 more suspects living in Arab countries to negotiate surrender, due to communication problems", he added.

Hawali had told AFP earlier that Crown Prince Abdullah suggested collecting the names of those willing to negotiate surrendering. They will be included regardless of the period needed to conclude negotiations.

Al-Qaeda had swiftly rejected the pardon, issued on June 23, branding it in a statement posted on Islamist websites as destined to fail.

The Saudi monarch coupled the one-month deadline for a "last chance" to surrender with a warning of doom for those who ignore it.

The authorities have already been piling the pressure on militants believed behind a spate of attacks in the oil-rich kingdom, which have killed some 90 people and wounded hundreds since May 2003.

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