Edition: U.S. / Global

WAR IN THE GULF: SAUDI ARABIA; Near Border, Saudis Abandon Town to the Troops

By JUDITH MILLER, Special to The New York Times
Published: January 29, 1991

Only two weeks ago, the schools here were full and the streets were filled. But deliveries of milk, frozen food and newspapers stopped days ago, and today Hafr al Baten is nearly deserted.

The reason is location. Situated next to King Khaled Military City -- one of Saudi Arabia's largest military bases -- and about 50 miles from the Iraqi and Kuwaiti borders, this town of 30,000 Bedouin and other residents is the last major population center on the convoy route north. As a result, the town, where Baghdad radio can readily be heard on a car radio, is now host only to a few journalists and some soldiers of the international forces opposing Iraq.

"Business is suffering," said Hussein Eisa Ibrahim, a Sudanese desk clerk at the Al Fao Hotel, the only two-star hostel in town. Normally, Mr. Ibrahim said, the hotel would be full at this time. But fewer than half of his rooms are occupied now.

Many of the military people not staying at the Al Fao are discreetly billeted on the playing field of a vast sports stadium, at the local youth hostel and at other places out of sight behind the walls of traditional compounds. Street after street of residential housing stands empty; none of the usual collection of Nissan trucks and Toyota Landcruisers are parked in front of them. The Streets Are Muddy

A "No to Drugs" sign still greets visitors to the city. But beyond the street lights and signs, the atmosphere in town is eerie. A steady drizzle of cold rain has turned the normally dusty streets into instant mud puddles. While the city has dozens of mosques, only one muezzin could be heard calling the faithful to prayer.

The only women in sight were American military policewomen at the entrance to the city, the "T.C.P." or "Traffic Control Point" for convoy traffic. At the intersection just in front of the town, military convoys streamed through in an unending modern caravan.

"Friday used to be a big day for me," said a Jordanian at what was once a thriving gas station. "Now, no one comes for gas."

But repair shops have been doing well. Nearly all were filled to capacity with the coalition's disabled military vehicles.

Despite the absence of residents, security is tight in town. A group of aging former military men who are paid a modest stipend for what amounts to guard duty are posted outside every major bank and institution and most large shops. Clutching their World War II-vintage rifles, they suspiciously eyed the few passers-by in civilian clothes.

Owners and residents left so quickly that many failed to put masking tape across glass doors and windows to protect their property from flying debris. Many were said to have taken advantage of the two-week school vacation to flee to Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holy cities, which are out of Scud missile range and presumably targets that President Saddam Hussein would not attack even if he could. Many Flee to Desert

Others have not gone as far. The Dahna desert, about an hour outside town, is speckled with the Bedouin-style tents of campers from Hafr al Baten. Few are expected to return here until the war is over. And no one seems willing to predict when that will be.

This town is beyond the range of electronic jammers operated by the Saudi Government to prevent broadcasts from occupied Kuwait and Iraq from reaching Saudi ears. Here, the nonstop fulminations of Iraqi broadcasters come through loud and clear. "Saddam Hussein," one singer rhapsodizes in Arabic song and verse, "you are the smile on the lips of the young and the old. You are the moon over Mesopotamia."

The police who patrol the empty streets do not listen to the voice of the "aggressor," as Iraq is called. And despite the absence of any immediate threat here, any suspicious activity is monitored. When two journalists snapped a picture of a deserted street, the police promptly pulled alongside their car and admonished them about it. Identification forms were duly checked. And then the police, unwilling to abandon Saudi hospitality, invited the guests to dinner.

Map of Saudi Arabia highlighting Hafr al Baten