Yemen’s pilgrims begin arriving in Saudi Arabia

The first batch of Yemeni pilgrims out of 25,000 slated to perform hajj this year arrived in Saudi Arabia Wednesday (August 1st) evening through the al-Wadiah land crossing.

The pilgrims will be arriving in batches through August 10th, with an average of 2,500 pilgrims travelling across the border every day.

Yemen's Hujaj (Pilgrims) Committee on Thursday officially inaugurated the process in the presence of sponsors and supporters.

"The committee kicked off the process after completing all necessary arrangements for receiving pilgrims at the crossing," said Murad Sobeih, vice-chairman of the Hujaj Committee.

It has provided all services, including camps which were supplied with electricity, toilets and all other amenities to help pilgrims during their stay at the crossing, he told Al-Mashareq.

"All volunteers and youth teams are ready to serve pilgrims throughout their stay at the crossing," he said.

"The security issues at al-Wadiah crossing on the Saudi side, which was one of the problems that faced pilgrims last year, have been resolved," said Sobeih. "We have now agreed that a security patrol will escort each convoy of 10 pilgrim buses until they reach the holy land."

Yemen’s Minister of Local Administration and chairman of the Higher Committee for Relief Abdul Raqib Fatah lauded the swift efforts of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) in providing food to pilgrims twice a day.

The centre has so far delivered 2,500 meals to Yemeni pilgrims at al-Wadiah crossing in co-ordination with the Higher Committee for Relief and the Ministry of Religious Endowments and Guidance, he told Al-Mashareq.