Ninety-one RI pilgrims pass away in Saudi Arabia ahead of haj

Ninety-one RI pilgrims pass away in Saudi Arabia ahead of haj

Agencies, Jakarta

The number of Indonesian pilgrims who died in Saudi Arabia
reached 91 people on Monday from the total of 205,000 pilgrims
who will join millions of pilgrims around the world conducting
the annual haj.

The Haj Media Center said most of the 91 pilgrims -- 57 men
and 34 women -- died in Madinah, Mecca and Jeddah.

Up to 204,873 Indonesian pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia
while some 127 pilgrims canceled their pilgrimages for various
reasons, Antara reported.

Agence-France Presse reported that with security uppermost in
their minds after last year's bombings in Riyadh, on Tuesday
Saudi authorities put the final touches to plans to ensure the
safety of more than two million Muslim faithful.

"Security forces are fully prepared to deal with any emergency
or anyone who would attempt to undermine the security of the
country or threaten the haj," Gen. Ali bin Ahmad al-Bar was
quoted by AFP as saying.

Interior minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz was scheduled on
Tuesday to inspect the security arrangements for the pilgrimage,
which starts on Friday and climaxes the following day. Police
reinforcements have been deployed at the entrances to Mecca and
on the roads leading to holy sites in order to direct traffic.

Some 14,200 buses will be used to ferry pilgrims to the holy
sites. Others will be traveling by cab or private car.

Up to 1,039 surveillance cameras installed on roads leading to
the holy places enable security forces to keep a watch on the
pilgrims and if necessary intervene, Tuesday's edition of the
daily Al-Watan quoted Gen. Abdul Aziz bin Said as saying.

Saudi authorities have for many years been taking precautions
to head off any trouble caused by foreign pilgrims. They have
also banned meetings or the raising of banners since 1987, when
clashes between security forces and Iranians protesting against
Israel and the United States killed 402 people, according to
official figures.

But this year's security concerns focus on the threat from
within -- extremists from Al-Qaeda blamed for a series of suicide
bombings that killed 52 people in Riyadh last May and November.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh told Mecca academics
Monday night that the Prophet Mohammad "banned the carrying of
arms in the holy places."

AFP reported that the pilgrims' efforts are being aided by
cool weather this year with temperatures expected to swing
between 14 degrees and 32 degrees Celsius on Saturday, the
pivotal day of the haj, when the faithful gather at Mount Arafat
before dawn and stay there until sunset praying for forgiveness.

Mecca and the nearby holy city of Medina were hit with
torrential rains last week causing floods. The cold weather has
caught some of the pilgrims coming from warm countries by
surprise.

At least 113 pilgrims, mostly from Southeast Asia, have died,
many of them from exhaustion, chronic illnesses or road
accidents, the Saudi Gazette reported on Sunday.

Many pilgrims were seen wearing masks for fear of contracting
bird flu or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which
killed nearly 800 people around the world last year.