Hajj marred by tragedy
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia has ordered the holy places of Mecca and Medina to be modernized, after some 250 Muslims – half of them Asians – died during a ritual that regularly results in deadly stampedes at the Hajj pilgrimage.
The 20-year project, announced by royal decree, establishes a committee chaired by minister of municipal and rural affairs, Mutaab Bin Abdel Aziz, and including Mecca regional governor Abdel Majid Bin Abdel Aziz, Medina regional governor Muqran Bin Abdel Aziz, and Hajj minister Iyad Bin Amin Madani.
The committee will “gradually put forward proposals” on the basis of expert opinion from abroad as well as within the kingdom.
The dead and injured were trampled or suffocated last Sunday, when vast numbers of pilgrims – almost 2 million – surged forward to lob stones at
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Hajj marred by tragedy
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