SAUDI ARABIA: Muslim pilgrims express their views on the execution of Saddam during the Haj and Saudi security forces on alert for any eventualities or accidents

Arab pilgrims performing the Haj in Mecca voiced mixed reactions at news of the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Sunni Arab pilgrims expressed anger over the execution which came after the former leader was convicted of crimes against humanity for his role in the killings of 148 Shiites from the Iraqi village of Dujail in the 1980s. "These sinners, those who collaborated with the Americans, they should be executed. They are American collaborators, those in Iraq. They should be executed, not Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein is the most honourable of all of them. He is the most honourable Arab. They will go to hell, he will go to heaven," said Mohammed Mousa from Lebanon. "What happened is not good because as a head of state, he should not be executed. This is how it is everywhere else in the world. His execution on the day of Eid and (Haj) is an insult to all Muslims," said Jordanian pilgrim Nidal Saleh. An execution at the start of Eid al-Adha is highly symbolic as the feast marks the sacrifice the prophet Abraham was prepared to make when God ordered him to kill his son. Aladdin Suleiman Mohammed, a Kurdish pilgrim from Suleimaniya, said he was happy with the decision to execute the former leader. "I am not sad about his execution because of what he has done, because of what he did to our people," he said. Saddam, a Sunni, was also admired by many Arabs for standing up to the United States. Security was tight at this year's Haj because of sectarian strife between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq and fears of increased sectarianism in Lebanon. The authorities were also worried about political protests -- which the Saudi security forces have broken up by force in the past. Pilgrims at the Haj dress in simple white garments which make it difficult for security forces to monitor the activities of different sects and nationalities at the pilgrimage. With more than 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims at this year's Haj, Saudi authorities also had to plan for emergency situations, including stampedes and the spread of disease which have marred the Haj in recent years, officials said. Up to 50,000 security men were deployed in and around holy places to try to avoid overcrowding, sectarian clashes and attacks by al-Qaeda-linked militants opposed to the U.S.-allied Saudi royals. The Kingdom's civil defence unit was on stand-by to deal with any situation, including the assistance of pilgrims, many of whom are old and frail and are more likely to come down with diseases that spread easily during Haj, when Mecca is packed with people from around 160 countries. "The work of the civil defence aviation consists of rescue operations and emergency work, providing any form of assistance to pilgrims. We are on stand-by 24 hours a day for any emergency," said Mohammed Harbi, a pilot at a civil defence aviation base outside Mena. "This unit is a back-up unit for any situation which the forces on the ground cannot control. These forces (of the civil defence aviation) are here to take control of any situation (rescue work) at the site (of an emergency)," said another unidentified official. More than 12,000 civil defence officials, 1,300 civil defence vehicles in addition to a number of planes and helicopters had been available during the five day ritual to deal with the overwhelming number of pilgrims. Plans to tackle any form of emergency were set up months in advance, many of them to deal with the daily assistance of security and emergency services, such as airlifting patients to near-by hospitals, and ensuring order at major points of attraction. Preparation for the Haj also included evacuation plans in case of heavy rainfall, floods and fires, which involved many forms of equipment, including boats and portable bridges. Medical centres have been set up throughout Mecca and surrounding areas, with hundreds of volunteers assisting those in need. Hundreds of people die of illness or heart attack during Haj every year, an official from the Ministry of Pilgrimage Affairs said. Around 500 people died of natural causes during the last Haj, but the number of deaths has declined over the years as health services have improved. At least 55 people died during the Haj pilgrimage this year, Arab News websites have reported, most of them in their 60s or older. But pilgrims this year have praised the Saudi authorities for improved organisation that has ensured no repeat of a series of deadly overcrowding tragedies that have beset the Haj in recent years. Last year, on the final day of the Haj, up to 362 pilgrims were crushed to death during the stoning-throwing ritual in the worst Haj tragedy in 16 years.

ITN Source | January 2, 2007

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