A Yemeni tribesman was reportedly shot and killed by Saudi forces after Saudi troops clashed with a group of protesting Yemenis who had attacked construction workers building at Saudi Arabia's security fence along the border and opened fire on them. Another was reported to has been injured.

“We fired on the construction company workers and the border guards fired back. We forced them to stop construction work,” a Yemeni tribal chief known as Hussein Abu Dadra said, adding, “We were caught by surprise this morning when construction of the fence had resumed".

Meanwhile, Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman, Mansour al-Turki, rejected the report, saying “There is nothing at the border. Everything is normal.”

Since 2003, Saudi Arabia has been constructing a security fence along its border with Yemen in a bid to block the way of traffickers and militants.

Yemen shares a 1,800-kilometer (1,118-mile) border with Saudi Arabia.

Last month, a Saudi border guard was wounded in a gun battle with three people trying to cross the kingdom's border illegally into Yemen.

Yemeni media accuse the Sana'a government of acting weakly in dealing with the issue of Yemeni citizens trying to enter Saudi Arabia, saying that the killing of Yemeni citizens entering the kingdom illegally has become a routine for Saudi border guards.

SHI/SHI