Viral videos capturing a Saudi-based Somali mother horrifically abusing her two 10-month-old daughters sparked outrage in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. This came just hours after they started circulating on Twitter on Tuesday.
The clips, which were filmed by the abuser herself, show the girls being slapped and dropped from heights.
One of the two victims is also seen being choked by the abusive woman, who is heard saying she'll "kill the child."
*The videos are available online but we choose not to share such graphic content in line with ethical standards.
Authorities immediately launched a search for the victims
As the videos made the rounds online, hundreds reported them to the kingdom's Ministry of Labor and Social Development, urging officials to take action.
In an immediate response, the ministry's spokesman, Khalid Aba Al Khail, sent out a tweet telling people that concerned authorities were made aware of the incident and launched a search for the girls.
In his tweet, Aba Al Khail also urged tweeps who have any information on the location of the victims to come forward.
The babies were found just hours after the footage first went viral
After officials called on people to help to locate the twin girls, the man, who originally posted videos capturing their torture, came forth.
Now identified as Mohanad Al Hashdi, the Yemeni citizen who knows the girls' father posted the clips calling on authorities to save them.
Hashdi also shared details of the incident, explaining that the abusive mother, a Somali national living in Saudi Arabia, was divorced from the girls' father and upset that he was not financially supporting them.
She reportedly "took the videos of herself torturing the babies" to send to her ex-husband's father "in Yemen so he can push him to send her money." The grandfather then contacted Hashdi asking for help because he wasn't able to travel to the kingdom to save the girls.
Authorities were able to locate and save the girls after the man contacted them via a hotline designated to help victims of domestic violence. According to Gulf News, "the twins were hospitalized by the ministry and later released after checkups." They have since been handed over to relatives of their father.