MAKKAH, 16 January 2005 — Interior Minister Prince Naif said yesterday that the Kingdom has made sufficient security arrangements to secure the safety of pilgrims during the coming Haj which climaxes with the Standing on Arafat on Wednesday.
Prince Naif, who is also chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, was addressing a press conference in Makkah after inspecting security and other facilities put in place in the holy sites in preparation for the annual pilgrimage.
He stressed that new security equipment and machinery deployed in the Haj sites are meant to ensure maximum safety for pilgrims. He added that Saudi security forces are fully geared to meet any contingency.
Prince Naif said 7,500 pilgrims have arrived from Libya and that they will be treated just as other Arab and Muslim pilgrims are treated. In answer to a question, he said all pilgrims will be treated as pilgrims.
Asked about gangs from certain countries who indulge in child and organ trading during Haj, Prince Naïf said they will be sternly dealt with.
The interior minister called on the media to report Haj objectively and with clarity without blowing things out of proportion.
Prince Naif inspected the forces in charge of Haj security, including riot and anti-terror units, traffic and highway security forces and civil defense units.
He inspected some of the new equipment introduced for the first time to ensure additional safety for the pilgrims.
Nearly two million pilgrims, more than half of them from abroad, are expected to perform Haj this year. The five-day ritual begins on Tuesday. Saudi authorities have deployed additional security and military forces in Makkah and the surrounding areas to ensure the safety of pilgrims.
Police reinforcements have been deployed at the entrances to Makkah and on the roads leading to the holy sites in order to facilitate traffic. Over 14,200 buses will be used to transport pilgrims within the holy sites.
More than 50,000 security men have been deployed to secure Haj, said Brig. Mansour Al-Turki, the Ministry of Interior spokesman. Between 70 and 80 percent of their task is primarily concerned with traffic control and ensuring the safety of pilgrims. More than 10,000 officers have been deployed to deal with any developments related to security matters.
The ministers of Haj, information, health, finance, commerce and industry and members of the Supreme Haj Committee in addition to heads of government departments involved in Haj services accompanied Prince Naif during the inspection tour.
The director of public security, Gen. Saeed Al-Qahtani, said security men were determined to “exert maximum effort to accomplish the mission they have been assigned to do” adding they consider the service of pilgrims and ensuring their safety an honor.
“The security forces would confront anyone who tries to destabilize the security or achievements of this country,” he said in a speech while outlining the Haj security plan.
