RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: In a move diplomats say is intended to enhance security and combat crime, the Saudi government has said it will grant free land to inhabitants of a mainly Shiite region near its border with Yemen,.

Ismaili Shiites, a majority in the Najran area, have long complained of discrimination and poor living standards.

Saudi authorities are keen to improve security along the border with Yemen, a country they see as a possible staging post for attacks by Al-Qaeda.

State news agency SPA said late on Sunday that King Abdullah had decided to allocate about 1,200 square kilometers to people in Najran.

Mohammad al-Askar, a leading Ismaili activist, said the decision had met a "principal demand" addressed to the king in a petition about two years ago. He said 40,000 Najranis were waiting for land, some of them for 20 years.

"The king has answered some of the aspirations of the Najrani people. This decision will improve the living standards of Najranis," Askar said. "People in Najran have been celebrating since this morning."

The move coincided with a visit by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for talks with King Abdullah, which Saudi state media said included discussion of terrorism.

Al-Qaeda has staged attacks in Yemen over the past year. In April, the Saudi Interior Ministry said it had arrested 11 Al-Qaeda-linked militants hiding in a mountainous area close to Yemen and accused them of planning attacks.

Al-Qaeda staged a series of bombings in US ally Saudi Arabia between 2003 and 2006, and the kingdom has expressed concern it could use Yemen to restart its campaign.

While Najran's Shiites are enemies of Al-Qaeda, analysts and diplomats say the land distribution should help deter them from turning to other illegal activities such as smuggling. Saudi Arabia and Yemen share a long mountainous border porous enough to be used for all sorts of trafficking, from illegal Muslim pilgrims to drugs and weapons.

King Abdullah last year removed Najran's governor after the Ismaili Shiites complained about efforts to settle Sunnis of Yemeni origin and give them housing and jobs in an effort to further marginalize Ismailis. Violent clashes broke out in 2000 between hundreds of Ismailis and the police in Najran.

Last week, some 181 Ismaili citizens asked the new governor, a son of the king, to pacify the impoverished area by ending discrimination and improving living standards.

Saudi media have reported plans to improve Najran infrastructure and the government is setting up an industrial hub in nearby Jizan province to create jobs in the relatively poor south.