The Egyptians entered the Kingdom from Kuwait on transit visas, which did not allow them to go for Haj. The 70 Egyptians, who include women and children, are squatting on sidewalks close to the Al-Ruqaei border crossing. Their numbers are likely to increase as more Egyptians are expected to arrive over the coming days.

"They have put themselves in a legal limbo because the visa they received three days before Haj did not permit them to perform Haj. Their transit visas stipulate that they should leave the Kingdom for another country before they can return to Kuwait. On the other hand, instead of going to Egypt, they went to Makkah for Haj," said Minister Plenipotentiary Hessam Eisa, consul general of Egypt in Riyadh.

Under transit visa regulations they should have left Saudi Arabia three days after entering the Kingdom.

The consul general said he has been discussing for the past two days the issue with Zarab Al-Qahtani, undersecretary at the Governorate of the Eastern Province, and officials at the border point and the Passport Department in Hafr Al-Batin. The pilgrims will only be able to leave the Kingdom if they pay fines.

Eisa said the pilgrims were cheated by a travel agent who promised to help them perform Haj without going through the normal formalities.

The consul general warned Egyptian expatriates in Gulf Cooperation Council countries that they should guard against being conned. “Illegal attempts to go to Makkah create many problems. Two Egyptian pilgrims were killed in a bus accident while traveling in a bus in a remote road in the Kingdom four days before Haj. It was because the illegal agents took the pilgrims on an unsafe road to escape the attention of Saudi security officials. However, Saudi officials treated the injured passengers and returned them to Kuwait as they volunteered to go back without going for Haj. The dead bodies of the two were sent to Egypt,” Eisa said.

The consul general appealed to his countrymen who intend to perform Haj in future to go through the legal channels. This will make sure that they perform the pilgrimage in safety and comfort.