Saudi Arabia issues drone restrictions

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry on Sunday instructed drone enthusiasts to obtain permission to fly the devices until regulations were finalised, a day after security forces shot down a recreational drone near the king´s palace in Riyadh.

Amateur online videos of heavy gunfire in the capital´s Khozama district on Saturday sparked fears of possible political unrest in the world´s top oil exporter. A senior Saudi official told Reuters there were no casualties when the drone was shot down and that King Salman was not in the palace at the time.

A security screening point had noticed the flying of a small unauthorized recreational drone, leading security forces to deal with it “according to their orders and instructions”, state news agency SPA had said. An Interior Ministry spokesman said a law for the use of drones was in its final stage and called on users to obtain the necessary police clearance to use the devices “for particular reasons in permitted locations”, state news agency SPA reported.