A new batch of Syrian pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the early morning hours of Tuesday. The Syrian Coalition’s Supreme Hajj Committee said that it had received the new batch of intending pilgrims and took them to their places of residence. It is expected that the last batch will arrive on Wednesday.
The latest batch has brought to about 19,000 the number of intending Syrian pilgrims who have arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the supervision of the Syrian Coalition’s Supreme Hajj Committee.
The Committee has taken on the supervision of Syrian hajj since 2013. It receives application for hajj in the offices it opened in eight countries in addition to two other offices in the liberated areas inside Syria.
The Committee has set up three offices – medical, religious and administrative offices. Each season, the Committee draws up plans to receive pilgrims from various places in Syria and the host countries and move them to their places of residence and then to Arafat and Mina.
There are also a number of supporting teams that assist the Committee in carrying out its tasks under the supervision of one of the administrators. The Committee is composed of around 90 staff members who comprise administrators and employees.
The Syrian mission received the respect and appreciation from all other missions in the last year’s hajj season owing to the effective organization and discipline shown by the Syrian pilgrims.
Secretary General of the Syrian Coalition Nazir al-Hakim extended his thanks and appreciation for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Saudi Government for their efforts to provide care and services for pilgrims as well as to cater for their needs in order to perform the hajj rituals smoothly and with ease.
Al-Hakim also thanked the Turkish government for facilitating the work of the Committee and for allowing Syrians to enter Turkish territory and then travel to the Kingdom to perform Hajj without the need for an entry visa to Turkey. He also thanked neighboring countries for facilitating the departure of intending Syrian refugees from their territories. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
