Saudi Arabia’s border control arrested 5,685 infiltrators and 240 smugglers in the Jazan district, an area southwest of the kingdom bordering with Yemen, in the last two weeks of February.

Along with the arrests, Saudi officials confiscated 61,000kg of qat, an illegal plant in Saudi Arabia used as a stimulant, and 258kg of hashish.

Muhammad A-Shamarani, a spokesman for Saudi’s border control said forces confiscated 1146 cattle, 554 rounds of live ammunition, 5 weapons and 8 bottles of wine, which is prohibited in Saudi Arabia on religious grounds.

Riyadh is concerned that Sanaa’s protracted conflict with rebels, known as the Al-Houthis, in northern Yemen is threatening Saudi Arabia’s stability and security.

Some regional analysts have suggested the current figures are being inflated as a way for the Saudi government to appease its population after suffering a crippling blow in the conflict with the Al-Houthis, as the arrests point to heightened security levels on the border.

“The Saudis are trying to win an emotional war because they lost the physical war,” Hakim Al-Masmari, political analyst and editor in chief of the Yemen Post told The Media Line.

“Right now, the Saudis are trying to show that they are giving security more presence on the border,” Al-Masmari said. “But the Al-Houthis are, in practicality, still controlling around 70 percent of the border with the Saudis.”

More than 130 Saudi soldiers have been killed since Riyadh became involved in the conflict last November.

Another regional political analyst on condition of anonymity agreed that the figures are more likely rhetoric than a reflection of a genuine clampdown.

“Both Saudi Arabia and Yemen claim they control the border, but I don’t feel that they do,” the analyst said. “A lot of money is flowing in and out and there are interests at high levels in the monarchy and in Yemen. Everyone benefits from the flow on both sides. However, since there is a clear focus on anti-terrorism, the control might be tighter than it was before.”

Anecdotal evidence suggests there are scores of Yemenis desperate to leave the country, and in their search for better living conditions and livelihoods often turn to Saudi Arabia.

This is especially relevant to Yemen’s huge population of internally displaced persons (IDP), who have been forced to leave their homes due to the conflict and are seeking shelter and support from a collection of non-governmental organizations (NGO) working in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Yemen’s army has been engaged in a protracted conflict with Al-Houthi rebels since 2004. The rebels wish to restore the Zaidi imamate, which was overthrown in a 1962 coup and they accuse the Yemenite government of being too closely allied with the United States.

The Yemeni government launched a massive military offensive earlier in August, codenamed Scorched Earth. Numerous rebels fleeing north across the border prompted a large Saudi air and ground offensive in an attempt to drive the Al-Houthis back into Yemen.

The rebels accused the Saudis of aiding the Yemeni government in the conflict and in retaliation invaded Saudi territory in November, killing a Saudi border guard.

Riyadh has since bolstered security presence along the border with Yemen, but is still having difficulties keeping the 1,450-kilometer long border secure.

There are fears the Yemeni conflict will become regional as Yemen’s government suspects Shi’ite interest groups in countries such as Iran and Bahrain of arming, training and financing the Al-Houthis. 

In addition to the conflict in the north, Yemen is also dealing with Al-Qaeda terror activity on its soil and a secessionist movement in the south of the country.