RIYADH, June 28: Saudi militant Othman al Amri surrendered to the authorities on Monday, availing of the one-month amnesty for suspects offered by King Fahd last week, one of his cousins was quoted as saying.

Othman Amri was on a list of the 26 most wanted militants sought by the Saudi authorities for charges related to terrorism. After the death of Abdul Aziz al Muqren, the Al Qaeda chief in Saudi Arabia, the list was reduced to 16. All others have been either killed or are already in prison.

A number of tribal elders and relatives of some of the wanted men have been trying to persuade the militants to benefit from the amnesty opportunity himself in in the southerly Asir province.

He surrendered a day after meetings between a number of western envoys and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal. During the meetings, the foreign minister assured the envoys that all steps were being taken to protect the 8.8 million expatriates living in the country. Late last week, hours after the amnesty announced by King Fahd, another militant, Saban al Shehri, had also surrendered.