Saudi authorities were said to have arrested 8 Yemeni families in the kingdom in connection with a hunt for a wanted fugitive said to be a relative of the families, the Alsahwa website reported on Thursday.
Four families, including children and women, were arrested on the Eid day while the four other families were arrested more than 5 months ago, Yemeni sources in the Arabian Gulf state told the website.
The fugitive was accused of recruiting terrorists in Yemen and Saudi Arabia for the Awaited Mahdi Group.
Mohammed Abdu Salah, from Rima in north Yemen, was deported by Saudis two years ago and since then authorities in both neighbors have been hunting him.
The arrests took place to pressure the families to give information about him.
The eight families were illegal migrants and were sent to different Saudi jails.
In Yemen there were reports that the authorities arrested a brother of the escapee, in his 40s, on charges related to the Awaited Mahdi propaganda.
Meanwhile, relatives of the families have urged the two countries to work on the release of the families, saying they must not be punished because of the wrongdoing of others, even if they were relatives.