Millions of pilgrims assemble in Mina today

MAKKAH: More than 2.5 million pilgrims, including 1.7 million from abroad, will assemble in the tent city of Mina today at the start of this year's annual pilgrimage. Thousands of pilgrims left for Mina yesterday afternoon.The Saudi government has provided all facilities in Mina and other holy sites to receive the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have come from different parts of the world. About 100,000 security officers have been deployed to ensure their safety.More than two million faithful, mostly pilgrims, attended the Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah yesterday. In his Friday sermon, Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim, the imam of the mosque, said the Haj reflected the unity and equality among Muslims.“All Muslims must learn lessons from this great religious event. The Haj should encourage them to work in unison, to be compassionate to one another and strengthen their cooperation. There are no national or racial slogans or party flags. There is only one flag. The flag of Lailaha Illallah Muhammad Rasulullah (‘There is no god but God and Muhammad is his Prophet’),” the imam told the faithful.Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, director of Haj security at the Interior Ministry, said about 30 percent of pilgrims would leave tonight for Arafat for the standing ritual on Sunday on the Haj climax.A large number of security officers have been deployed in desert roads leading to Makkah in order to prevent illegal pilgrims who do not posses valid Haj permits from entering the holy city, Maj. Gen. Ali Habab Al-Nafie, commander of the Haj security forces, said yesterday.“Drivers who smuggle illegal pilgrims to Makkah will be arrested and handed over to concerned authorities to punish them,” Al-Nafie told local Arab media. “We have taken this issue seriously and we have already identified the routes that could be used for smuggling pilgrims.”Sudanese President Omar Bashir, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have also arrived to perform Haj this year.Saudi Ministry of Health has readied more than 14,000 units of blood and its derivatives to meet the requirements of pilgrims. The ministry has made arrangements to supply more than 37,000 meals among patients admitted to its hospitals in the holy sites.

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