KUWAIT CITY, June 7: About 7,000 Bedouns, who obtained Eritrean passports, have discovered their documents are fake, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources.

Sources revealed the Bedouns were surprised when they went to the Eritrean Embassy in Kuwait to renew their passports because the officials told them the embassy has no records of their travel documents. Sources explained this means the passports were issued in an illegal manner; hence, the holders cannot renew these documents. Sources said this might prompt the holders of these fake passports to file a lawsuit against the authorities which issued the documents.

In the meantime, a security official clarified the Ministry of Interior is not in charge of such cases, because its records show these supposed Bedouns are expatriates who might face legal problems unless they take the necessary steps to legalize their status. He pointed out the ministry focuses on the case of those who stay in the country illegally, stressing that forgery is a crime. He reiterated the ministry does not handle cases of Bedouns who obtained fake Eritrean, Dominican or Syrian passports.

Moreover, a source from the Central System for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) said a new batch of citizenship applicants, including 250 children of female Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis, widows, divorcees, long-time employees of Kuwait Oil Company and holders of academic certificates, has been presented to the concerned authority. He added these applicants are included in the 1965 Census and they have met all the naturalization requirements.