Al Mukalla: Several thousands of Yemenis heading to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj have been stranded at the kingdom’s border crossing in the Empty Quarter, witnesses and officials said on Saturday.
“I have been waiting on the Saudi side of the border for more than 30 hours. There are roughly 300 buses parked in a long queue waiting for security checks,” a young man from the province of Hadramout told Gulf News on Saturday.
The pilgrims have been sleeping in the desert and are running out of food and water.
“There are no toilets or even shelters to protect us from the scorching desert heat,” the young man said.
Since Yemeni government forces gained control of the Al Wadea border crossing in Hadramout province, it has been largely peaceful.
Other border crossings into Saudi Arabia have been closed due to ongoing Al Houthi militant attacks against Saudi Arabia.
Flights from Yemen to Saudi Arabia have also been suspended making Al Wadea the sole entry point into Saudi Arabia.
Due to the large number of pilgrims funnelled into one border crossing, security checks are taking a very long time.
Local tourism agencies responsible for organising Haj groups also say there have been delays on the part of Saudi Arabia in issuing the visas.
“We all were given the passports back in one day, so we rushed to send the pilgrims as soon as possible,” a stranded head of a local travel agency told Gulf News on the condition of anonymity.
Local charities have started to send food and water to the stranded pilgrims.
In Riyadh, Yemen’s foreign minister, Abdul Malik Al Mikhlafi, said on Friday the government had formed a committee comprising some ministers and asked them to visit the stranded pilgrims.
But the government blamed the agencies for not adhering to an agreed date to bring their pilgrims to the border.
Fuad Omar Bin Al Shaikh Abu Baker, minister of endowment, told Gulf News on Saturday that the agencies rushed to the border out of fear of not arriving in Makkah on time.
Abu Baker said that more than 11,200 Yemeni pilgrims have crossed into Saudi Arabia and 6,000 are still stranded on the border.
“We are heading today to the border to provide the stranded people with food and tents,” Abu Baker said.
