C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBAI 000282

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/19/2017
TAGS: PGOV PINS PBTS MU AE
SUBJECT: NEW UAE-OMANI BORDER FENCE AIMED AT STOPPING ILLEGAL
IMMIGRATION

REF: A. DUBAI 00281, B. 06 DUBAI 03054

CLASSIFIED BY: Paul R Sutphin, Consul General, Dubai, UAE.
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)




1. (SBU) Poleconoffs met with Fahem Abdullah al-Habsi, the
Customs Center Manager at Saqr Port in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) on
March 28. During the course of discussions about Saqr Port
(reftel A) al-Habsi commented on the UAE-Oman border on the
Musandam Peninsula and illegal immigrants.

2.(C) According to al-Habsi the UAE is nearing completion of a
new fence and checkpoints along the entire UAE-Oman border.
Al-Habsi believes the purpose of the fence is to stop illegal
immigration from Oman to the UAE; however, he claimed to have
little information on the project since it is not a customs
issue.

3.(C) Al-Habsi said that when the residents of the mountains
(reftel B) noticed strangers, they would detain them and call
the police. When illegal immigrants are turned over to the RAK
police, the RAK government gives them a reward. He added that
illegal immigrants are detained a few times a month and that
most of them were Pakistani, Baluchi, or Iranian.

4.(C) Al Habsi mentioned that the UAE border post at al-Jeer,
only a few miles north of Saqr Port, has been completed and is
fully operational.

5.(U) Comment: Since 2005 the UAEG has been erecting fences
along its borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman. Poleconoffs have
observed that the fence along the borders of the UAE and Oman is
almost complete, except for a few sections, which are still
being completed. Recently, while in the Omani enclave of Mahda,
poleconoff met a survey team that was delineating the border in
this remote mountainous region.

SUTPHIN