Riyadh: Some 500 securitywomen have been hired to help women pilgrims and prevent crimes such as pickpocketing and theft at women's prayer areas during the current Haj season.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Nasir Al Arfaj, commander of Haj Security Forces, said that their duties also include serving women at the Haram Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah as well as at the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa, besides guiding them, especially those who stranded and lost their way.
"Some would also be deployed at the entry points to Makkah to help the passport officials to accelerate the travel and security procedures," he said, adding that the securitywomen would also closely monitor the situation to prevent any thefts and begging.
Mock drill
On Monday, a mock drill was held at the Haram Mosque as part of the elaborate security arrangements. Senior commanders were present at the drill aimed to ensure the preparedness of the Special Haj Emergency forces to prevent any possible terrorist threat as well as to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims.
The drill attains special significance in the wake of deteriorating bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran following the latter's plot to assassinate Saudi ambassador to the US. In the past, Iranian pilgrims had created headache for Saudi security forces when they tried to politicise the annual gathering by staging anti-US and Israeli protests during Haj.
In the drill, a number of people organised a sit-in the area between the Hajar Al Aswad (Black Stone) and Rukn Al Yamani in the Mataf (area for circumambulation)) while pilgrims were performing tawaf around the Holy Kaaba. The emergency forces were able to end the sit-in in a record time without hurting any of the pilgrims inside the mosque.
Live ammunition
During the exercise, emergency forces were asked to use machine guns and fire live ammunition at certain targets, which they achieved with accuracy.
In another scenario, a force was asked to storm a building where a number of "terrorists" were hiding. Using megaphones, the officers asked them to surrender but they refused and started firing. After an exchange of fire, the building was destroyed and the "terrorists" were forced to surrender.
Commander of the special emergency forces Maj. Gen. Ali Al Ghamdi, Director of Makkah Police Maj. Gen. Ebrahim Al Hamza and Commander of the Haj security forces Brig. Khaled Qirar were among the officials attended the drill. They praised the outstanding work of the emergency forces and their well-preparedness in preventing any untoward incident during the annual Haj, which is due in the first week of November.
Meanwhile, Col. Abdullah Al Hamrani, spokesman of the Border Guards in the southern Asir Region, said that his forces have foiled recently a number of smuggling attempts across the border with Yemen. "A total of 1,864 infiltrators have been arrested. The seized items included four AK 47 rifles, 68 revolvers, 26 guns and 10932 Kalashnikov bullets," he said.
