AKIPRESS.COM - Saudi Arabia plans to execute more than 50 people convicted of terrorism, two Saudi newspapers reported this week, in what appears to be a warning to would-be militants at a time of militant attacks on the kingdom.

Fifty-five people were awaiting execution for “terrorist crimes” that killed more than 100 civilians and 71 security personnel, the newspaper Okaz reported on Thursday, without specifying when the executions would occur, reports Reuters.

On Monday, the semi-official newspaper al-Riyadh reported that 52 people would be put to death soon, but it later pulled the story from its website without explanation.

Some of those facing execution were affiliated with al Qaeda, Okaz said. Others are from Awamiya, a town in the oil-producing Eastern Province where the government has suppressed demonstrations for equal rights.

Awamiya residents responded to the news by closing off roads leading into the city with burning debris, local activists said.

The alleged al Qaeda militants stand accused of attempts to overthrow the government and carry out attacks using small weapons, explosives and surface-to-air missiles, Okaz said.

One prisoner was accused of trying to buy nuclear material in Yemen worth $1.5 million for use inside Saudi Arabia.

The charges against the Awamiya residents include sedition, attacks on security officials and interference in neighbouring Bahrain, which has also experienced unrest since 2011.