Embassy warns Saudi citizens as youth shot at in Turkey

ANKARA — Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Turkey issued a warning to its citizens after unidentified gunmen shot at and robbed a group of Saudi nationals in Istanbul on Saturday.

In a statement, the embassy said that the tourists were sitting in a café in Istanbul’s Sisli district when gunmen shot at one of them and stole the group’s belongings.

The embassy said that the man who was shot was injured, but did not disclose how severe his injury is.

The embassy asked Saudi nationals in Turkey to take all precautions during their stay, and to avoid going to Sisli and Taksim Square — two popular tourist spots in the city — after sunset.

In July, Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Turkey issued an alert to its citizens visiting the country regarding the safekeeping of their belongings after a spate of cases involving the theft of Saudi passports in Istanbul.

The Saudi foreign ministry said that some citizens had filed complaints after they were subjected to pickpocketing in some regions of Turkey and added that many of them had lost their passports and money. — Al Arabiya English