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Neom: A New Destination in Saudi Arabia’s Political Landscape

Crown Prince Mohammed and the Sultan of Oman at Neom’s Center for Knowledge Enrichment. (SPA)
Crown Prince Mohammed and the Sultan of Oman at Neom’s Center for Knowledge Enrichment. (SPA)
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Neom: A New Destination in Saudi Arabia’s Political Landscape

Crown Prince Mohammed and the Sultan of Oman at Neom’s Center for Knowledge Enrichment. (SPA)
Crown Prince Mohammed and the Sultan of Oman at Neom’s Center for Knowledge Enrichment. (SPA)

A unique visit by Oman’s ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, has shed even more light on Saudi Arabia’s promising northwestern city of Neom, where Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received his guest.

Official visits to the Kingdom have been curbed by the coronavirus pandemic, but with the world somewhat standing on the verge of partially containing the virus, state leaders are gradually resuming foreign visits.

Marking the visit, Omani and Saudi flags fluttered high over the streets and squares of the futuristic “Dream City.”

Moreover, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, accompanied Sultan Haitham on a tour of Neom’s Center for Knowledge Enrichment, which showcases the latest developments of Neom projects and sectors.

The Sultan was briefed on other significant projects such as AlUla, Qiddiya, Amaala and the Red Sea.

At the end of his visit to the center, Sultan Tariq left a message in the VIP register, praising the Kingdom’s efforts in building Neom and affirming that the cross-border city “will have an economic standing in the world as planned.”

Considered the jewel of the Kingdom’s mega projects, Neom started rightfully making headlines and assuming its suitable place in hosting critical political events that were held in other major Saudi cities.

Riyadh, Taif, Jeddah and Makkah were the cities traditionally known for hosting the signing of significant political agreements and witnessed events that shaped the entire region.

Today, Neom, together with other newly revamped Saudi cities, has started to become associated with the series of vital events that are part and parcel of Saudi Arabia’s political landscape.

This evolution can be tied to the Saudi leadership’s ambitious plan for national transformation and its decision to activate all domestic potentials.

Tourist, economic and investment sectors of the Kingdom have proven more than qualified to play a role in the future of both Saudi Arabia and the region.

For example, AlUla, one of the oldest cities in the Arabian Peninsula and home to Hegra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, hosted a historic Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in early 2021.

The summit revived intra-GCC relations and united ranks at a crucial point in time to face regional challenges.

Meanwhile, the city of Dhahran, a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry, hosted the Arab League’s 29th summit on April 15, 2018.

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Syrians Face Horror, Fearing Loved Ones May Be in Mass Graves

People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus - AFP
People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus - AFP
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Syrians Face Horror, Fearing Loved Ones May Be in Mass Graves

People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus - AFP
People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus - AFP

After losing hope of finding his two brothers among those freed from Syrian jails, Ziad Alaywi was filled with dread, knowing there was only one place they were likely to be: a mass grave.

"We want to know where our children are, our brothers," said the 55-year-old standing by a deep trench near Najha, southeast of Damascus.

"Were they killed? Are they buried here?" he asked, pointing to the ditch, one of several believed to hold the bodies of prisoners tortured to death.

International organizations have called these acts "crimes against humanity".

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8 and the takeover by an Islamist-led opposition alliance, families across Syria have been searching for their loved ones.

"I've looked for my brothers in all the prisons," said the driver from the Damascus suburbs, whose siblings and four cousins were arrested over a decade ago.

"I've searched all the documents that might give me a clue to their location," he added, but it was all in vain.

Residents say there are at least three other similar sites, where diggers were frequently seen working in areas once off-limits under the former government.

- 'Peace of mind' -

The dirt at the pit where Alaywi stands looks loose, freshly dug. Children run and play nearby.

If the site was investigated, "it would allow many people to have peace of mind and stop hoping for the return of a son who will never return", he said.

"It's not just one, two, or three people who are being sought. It's thousands."

He called on international forensic investigators to "open these mass graves so we can finally know where our children are."

Many Syrians who spoke to AFP in recent days expressed disappointment at not finding their loved ones in the prisons opened after the takeover by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

A few kilometres (miles) from Najha, a team of about 10 people, most in white overalls, was transferring small white bags into larger black ones with numbers.

Syrian Civil Defense teams have received numerous calls from people claiming to have seen cars dumping bags by the roadside at night. The bags were later found to contain bones.

"Since the fall of the regime, we've received over 100 calls about mass graves. People believe every military site has one," said civil defence official Omar al-Salmo.

- Safeguard evidence -

The claim isn't without reason, said Salmo, considering "the few people who've left prisons and the exponential number of missing people."

There are no official figures on how many detainees have been released from Syrian jails in the past 10 days, but estimates fall far short of the number missing since 2011.

In 2022, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor estimated that more than 100,000 people had died in prison, mostly due to torture, since the war began.

"We're doing our best with our modest expertise," said Salmo. His team is collecting bone samples for DNA tests.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch urged the new Syrian authorities to "secure, collect and safeguard evidence, including from mass grave sites and government records... that will be vital in future criminal trials".

The rights group also called for cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which could "provide critical expertise" to help safeguard the records and clarify the fate of missing people.

Days after Assad's fall, HRW teams visiting Damascus's Tadamun district, the site of a massacre in April 2013, found "scores of human remains".

In Daraa province, Mohammad Khaled regained control of his farm in Izraa, seized for years by military intelligence.

"I noticed that the ground was uneven," said Khaled.

"We were surprised to discover a body, then another," he said. In just one day, he and others including a forensic doctor exhumed a total of 22 bodies.