Saudi deploys 100,000 troops for Haj

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said some 100,000 security personnel have been deployed to oversee Haj pilgrimage that begins on Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. Mansour Al Turki said among those securing the massive crowds during Haj are members of an elite counter-terrorism unit, traffic police and emergency civil defence personnel. They are being supported by additional troops from the army and national guard.
Al Turki vowed on Saturday that militants "cannot control a centimetre anywhere in Saudi Arabia".
Meanwhile, two people were injured late on Friday night when part of a mountain in the holy city of Makkah collapsed on their home, state news agency SPA said. - Agencies
The Civil Defence authority said the landslide caused the ceiling of the four storey building in the Batha Quraish area to collapse, injuring a man and woman.
An investigation is still ongoing to reveal the cause of the accident, the SPA said.
The Haj is expected to draw up to three million people from around the world this year to the holy city.

 

 

• Saudi Arabia