MADINAH – Classes were suspended on Tuesday at the women's section of Taibah University following intrusion of 15 illegal Africans into the campus. Col. Fahd Al-Ghanam, spokesman of Madinah police, said the African youths who were detained at the adjacent Pilgrims' City climbed the outer fence and entered the campus in the early morning. “The university security guards and the patrol policemen managed to catch and take them back to the detention center. Their demand was to speed up deportation and they did not involve in any rioting,” he said, adding that no one was hurt in the incident. Security men combed the entire campus and the university building in order to ensure that there was no intruder hiding inside. Eisa Al-Qayidi, spokesman of the university, denied rumors and exaggerated reports being circulated through social networking sites. An official source at the university said that classes were suspended only as a precautionary measure and that the university's Al-Salam faculties for girls were not affected. Okaz/Saudi Gazette saw several Africans gathered in front of the university campus after escaping from their detention center. Some of them climbed the fence and entered the campus. One of them told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that among the inmates at the center there were some who surrendered themselves while others were nabbed by the security officials. “We are anxiously waiting to be deported, and some of us intruded the campus and caused damage to some university instruments. This was not with an intention to engage in violence but only to highlight our demand to get deported at the earliest,” he said. Meanwhile, security guards prevented the entry of students and teachers for safety reasons and managed to get out those teachers and students who had already entered the campus before the incident. They denied rumors that some of their colleagues were killed by the intruders. Meanwhile, more than 3,000 illegal Africans were camping at Makkah's Kudai parking area, waiting for their deportation.
