The first batch of intending Syrian pilgrims flew to Saudi Arabia from Gaziantep, Turkey on Saturday. The hajj journey is being supervised by the Syrian Coalition’s Supreme Hajj Committee which has assumed this task over the past five years.
A total of 180 intending Syrian pilgrims flew off to the holy sites in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The second batch, numbering 180 persons, is scheduled to depart Turkey on Sunday.
Earlier this week, the Committee said that a total of 15,000 Syrian nationals will arrive in Saudi Arabia to perform hajj coming mainly from Syria and neighboring countries as well as Qatar, Egypt, the UAE, and Kuwait.
Rights group estimate that over 14 million Syrians have been displaced inside and outside the country as a result of the Assad regime’s military campaigns on the liberated areas.
All visas for hajj were exclusively obtained through the offices of the Committee in coordination with the Saudi embassies and consulates in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey under an agreement concluded with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj.
The Committee has opened several offices in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and northern Syria as well as branch offices in the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait. The offices provide services to Syrian pilgrims and manage their affairs while performing hajj. Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
