JEDDAH: Houthis have obstructed entry of 100,000 Yemeni Umrah Yemeni pilgrims to Makkah this season despited pilgrims have begun arriving from other parts of the world since over a month ago.

The illegal war waged by the Houthis have deprived Yemenis of fulfilling their Islamic obligation, said Hussein Alsabahi, president of the Tourist Union Companies.

He said that Umrah and Haj pilgrim offices incurring huge losses have also been closed down.

Alsabahi hoped an early solution to the problem through the cooperation of relevant authorities in Yemen and the Kingdom, adding that a solution could be similar to that which was found in the past for the citizens of Libya, Iraq and Syria.

He feared the Houthis will oppose the formation of a committee comprised of the relevant authorities between the two countries to devise a mechanism to ensure smooth journey of the Umrah pilgrims.

A union member confirmed that the Houthis prevented 15,000 Haj pilgrims from performing their Haj last season, after they had paid the fees and completed their procedures as per rules and regulations.

He said Houthis are possibly doing this in accordance with their hostile agenda to achieve political mileage by embarrassing the Kingdom and holding it responsible for preventing Yemenis from performing Haj.

Meanwhile, Yemeni Minister of Haj Dr. Foad bin Alsheikh has exerted significant efforts in cooperation with the Yemeni Union for Tourism to enable Yemenis to perform umrah, reported Okaz. The minister said many people are awaiting the new Haj season.

The union said: “We call on the minister to take necessary procedures against those who continue to put obstacles for Yemenis who wish to perform Haj, because they are only serving as tools in the hands of the Houthis.”