Taking notice of the incident the governor of Asir region said in a statement that a committee would be formed to investigate the incident, without offering details.

The video shows dozens of men dressed in security uniforms and others in Saudi national dress chasing women, beating them with wooden sticks and lashing them with leather belts. The video then shows a man dragging one of the women as she screams, while another beats her with a belt.

Saudi human rights advocates denounced the video as more evidence of the Saudi government’s suppression of women’s rights in the kingdom.

“Assaulting women is not an exception,” Lina al-Hathloul, a Saudi human rights activist said on Twitter.

Orphanages in Saudi Arabia are overseen by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has earned some plaudits for expanding women’s rights, notably by making it possible for women to drive and relaxing so-called guardianship rules.

Such reforms, however, have been accompanied by a crackdown on women’s rights activists, part of a broader campaign against dissent.

With input from AFP