Plan for Saudi-Iraq Border Fence Demonstrates Strong Role for Physical Security in Middle East

Saudi Arabia’s decision last month to build a multilayered fence along its northern borders will surely be a talking point at next month’s IFSEC & OSH Arabia show.

Covering 560 miles of the country’s northern frontier the fence is the first stage of a border security programme launched amid growing concerns about the risk posed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) marauding across Iraq and Syria.

The project, which will involve five layers of fencing and watch towers, will, the Saudi ruling class hopes, stem the flow of drugs, arms and cattle smugglers as well as repel potential terror attacks.

Although IS shares same Islamic ideology as the Saudi monarchy – Wahhabism  – the latter has nevertheless distanced itself from the army gaining ground beyond its northern border and considers it a threat to its own Kingdom.

Indeed, reports circulated in September IS was planning an attack against Saudi Arabia during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Just one of many such grand-scale fencing projects undertaken across the Middle East in recent years, the announcement is further evidence of the opportunities for physical security companies in the region.

Saudi Arabia is already building a giant border fence to seal off its similarly troubled frontier with Yemen.

Work on the 1,100-mile fence was recently interrupted by protests by Yemeni tribesman who say it prevents access to important livestock pastures.

Smugglers and militants found a way to circumvent the first part of the fence, which has already been erected, by using mules, women and secret paths.

Mega fences around the world

• The Dingo Fence or Dog Fence was built in Australia during the 1880s to keep dingoes out of the comparatively fertile south-east part of the continent and protect southern Queensland sheep flocks. At 3,488 miles it’s the world’s longest fence
• The world’s longest barbed-wire fence is found on the India-Bangladesh border. Dubbed the “wall of death” by locals the 4,000 km barrier is manned by India’s Border Security Force (BSF), which has been accused of numerous unlawful killings along the border during the fence’s construction over the past decade
• Israel constructed the controversial barrier along its border with the West Bank in 2002. A mixture of fences, barbed wire, ditches and concrete slabs up to eight metres high the barrier also includes sensors, sand – to identify footprints – patrol roads and ‘buffer zones’ up to 60m wide
• The Saudi–Yemen barrier  runs along part of a 1,100 mile border between the countries. It consists of of pipeline three metres high, filled with concrete and supported on posts, and fitted with electronic detection equipment
• The US government has spent billions building a metal wall along a swathe of its 2,000-mile southern border with Mexico. Expensive efforts to build a ‘virtual wall‘ of sensors and cameras have been beset by technical problems, for instance with trees mistaken for people in windy conditions

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