Authorities in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates issued statements on Friday warning of security risks from the new app. smartphone Pokémon Go.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait, users playing the game should avoid going with Pikachu to the palace of the Emir of Kuwait, mosques, oil facilities or military fundamentals.
"The danger of this game is that it photographs areas at close range with… smartphones carrying images to third-party sites," said Deputy Interior Minister Suleiman al-Fahd.
"The interior ministry has warned security men to show zero tolerance for anyone approaching restricted areas, intentionally or unintentionally," al-Fahd said.
The game is currently only available in five Western countries, but Nintendo has stated that Pokemon GO will be released in 200 countries "relatively soon."
Of course there are those who access the application with a VPN connection or through foreign App Stores. The game is quite addictive and so the Middle East (and beyond) is at the "mercy" of monsters that circulate through the displays of mobile phones everywhere.
Thus the colorful creatures were spotted in the pyramids of Egypt and in the mosque al-Aqsa Mosque of Jerusalem.
Egypt's cabinet spokesman told the news show "90 Minutes" on Wednesday that authorities are investigating Pokemon GO in an effort to "minimize the risks of these games. "
Abbas Shoman from Cairo's Al Azhar mosque, the headquarters of the Sunni Muslims, is probably desperate.
"It's the ultimate manic damage to the future of these people who have fallen in love with this game, looking for Pokemon on the streets… like drunk," he told Youm7.
