AFP

KUWAIT CITY KUWAIT has decided to deport stateless people who took part in protests demanding citizenship which turned violent, newspapers reported on Tuesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Central Agency for Illegal Residents, which deals with the stateless people known as bidoons, chaired by Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad al Humud al Sabah, Al Anbaa newspaper reported.

Other measures included dismissing all bidoons from the army and the police force if they or their children attended the protests, and evicting them from housing provided by the government.

The government also decided to confiscate security IDs from any protester bidoons, their only form of identification, and cancel their applications for Kuwaiti nationality.

Riot police used tear gas, water cannon and batons to disperse thousands of bidoon protesters on Friday and Saturday, injuring scores and arresting more than 100 people, according to activists.

Kuwait says only 34,000 out of the 105,000 bidoons present in the Gulf state are eligible for citizenship, while the remaining 71,000 are citizens of other countries who must produce their original passports.