RIYADH, April 28: Saudi police have arrested more than 9,100 foreigners in a crackdown on illegal residents in the country’s north during the year ending March 2002, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Some 9,149 men and women were arrested in the eastern Hafer al-Batin region, 500 kilometres north of Riydadh, Al-Youm said. Another 1,274 expatriates were picked up around the holy city of Medina. Many of the illegals had failed to leave the desert kingdom after their pilgrimage visas expired.

Saudi authorities regularly announce the arrests of mainly Arab and Asian Muslim nationals who arrive in the kingdom to perform pilgrimage to Makkah but then choose to remain there in breach of visa regulations.

There are around seven million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. The government has launched a campaign to reduce the number by hiking fees on recruitment and offering incentives for nationals to replace foreign labour in the private sector.

US stay: Senior Saudi Arabian officials appeared ready on Sunday to delay their departure from Texas as talks continued with the Bush administration about a proposed peace plan for the Middle East.

The Saudis, led by Crown Prince Abdullah, had been set to leave on Sunday, but said it was now likely they would stay an extra day. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal was tentatively scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday in Houston, officials said.

Whether the change in plans meant progress in the talks was not clear, but Saudi officials spoke in positive terms about a meeting on Thursday between Abdullah and US President George W. Bush at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas.

The crown prince reportedly told Bush he must moderate his support for Israel and help bring peace to the region or risk serious consequences in the Arab world.—AFP/Reuters