RIYADH, Dec 16: Security forces on Thursday foiled attempts by some people to stage anti-government demonstrations in two Saudi cities by making large deployments in Riyadh and arresting a number of people in Jeddah.

The call for demonstration had been given by the London-based Saudi dissident Saad Al-Faqih, who had expressed the hope that tens of thousand of Saudis would take part. Saad Al-Faqih, who runs the Movement for Islamic Reforms in Arabia (Mira), had based his hopes on the increasing number of Saudi nationals participating in satellite radio and TV programmes aired by his group, criticizing the Saudi government.

In Riyadh, security forces turned up in large numbers to thwart any demonstration, which the organizers had said would be peaceful. Some of the major roads leading to the protest site were blocked since morning. Police in full gear were keeping an eye on people trying to enter the area, while helicopters kept hovering above.

Some offices in central Riyadh, near the posh Kingdom Towers, had given option to their staff to leave earlier. Being the weekend, most of the offices in the area were supposed to close earlier than schedule. Some shops were closed in anticipation of the demonstration.

Two men were reportedly arrested in Jeddah after they had fired shots in the air outside a mosque where Faqih had told protesters to gather after Zuhr prayers. At least one other person was detained but about 30 other worshippers, outnumbered by police, left the mosque peacefully.

"Two people fired their handguns in the air near a police patrol vehicle. They were arrested straightaway but there was no exchange of fire and no one was hurt," Reuters news agency quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying.

Elsewhere in Jeddah, witnesses said police arrested around 10 people who ran away from the spot once their small gathering had been dispersed. Security in other major cities of the kingdom, including the oil-rich eastern cities of Dammam and Al Khobar, was at a higher level to prevent any attempt to stage demonstration.

Unconfirmed reports of unsuccessful attempts to stage demonstration were received from some other cities, such as Hail and Tabuk. In October 2003, police broke up similar protests in Riyadh orchestrated by Faqih.

On the eve of the planned protest, 35 religious scholars issued a statement condemning Faqih and warning the Saudis against supporting him. "It is our duty and responsibility to advise you, because of our concern for the stability and security of the country ... to reject this act, and we warn against participating in it," said the statement, signed by prominent religious figures including a widely respected religious scholar, Salman Al Awdah.