SAUDI ARABIA: ANTI TERRORIST AND SECURITY FORCES PARADE ON THE PLAIN OF ARAFAT AS MUSLIM PILGRIMS ATTEND THE HAJ IN MECCA.

Record ID: 189764

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: ANTI TERRORIST AND SECURITY FORCES PARADE ON THE PLAIN OF ARAFAT AS MUSLIM PILGRIMS ATTEND THE HAJ IN MECCA.
  • Date: 27th January 2004
  • Summary: (W1) JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA (JANUARY 27, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. WS: GUARDS STANDING TO ATTENTION. 0.04 2. MV: MINISTER OF INTERIOR PRINCE NAYEF BIN ABDUL-AZIZ ARRIVING AT PARADE. 0.11 3. VARIOUS: ANTI TERRORISM FORCES MARCHING. (3 SHOTS) 0.30 4. VARIOUS: ANTI RIOT FORCES MARCHING. (3 SHOTS) 0.47 5. LAS: POLICE HELICOPTER IN FLYING OVER PARADE. 0.52 6. CU: ANTI RIOT VEHICLES ON PARADE. 0.58 7. LAS/ZOOM BACK/WS: PARATROOPERS CLIMBING DOWN ROPE FROM HELICOPTER. 1.08 8. WS/CU: ANTI- RIOT VEHICLES ON PARADE. (2 SHOTS) 1.20 9. CU: OF SOLDIER BEHIND MACHINE GUN, SALUTING. 1.25 10. CU: RESCUE BOATS IN PARADE. 1.36 11. LAS/TRACK: HELICOPTER FLYING BY. 1.42 12. SCU/TRACK: MINISTER OF INTERIOR PRINCE NAYEF BIN ABDUL-AZIZ ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE. 1.48 13. CU: AUDIENCE. 1.53 14. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MINISTER OF INTERIOR PRINCE NAYEF BIN ABDUL-AZIZ SAYING "The interior ministry at the time of the haj always takes all the security measures it can for the safety of the pilgrims. This year, as in all the past years, we hope we can win the confidence of the pilgrims in this matter." 2.32 15. WS: OF PRESS CONFERENCE. 2.37 16. MV/CU: POLICE OFFICERS LISTENING. (2 SHOTS) 2.47 17. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MINISTER OF INTERIOR PRINCE NAYEF BIN ABDUL-AZIZ SAYING "Islam is far from terrorism and rejects terrorism completely, and because Saudi Arabia is ruled by Islam and the people of Saudi Arabia are Muslim, Saudi Arabia rejects becoming a centre or a passage for terrorists. Reality rejects this completely." 3.17 (W1) MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA (JANUARY 27, 2004) (REUTERS) 18. VARIOUS: GRAND MOSQUE AT MECCA WITH THOUSANDS ATTENDING THE HAJ AND THE CALL TO PRAYER. (4 SHOTS) 4.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 11th February 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JEDDAH AND MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Reuters ID: LVABSG4R2OYGG2EP53QSIS963K44
  • Story Text: Security for haj is high in Saudi Arabia.



    Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday (January 27) it was
    prepared to confront any threats to the security of two
    million Muslims gathering for the annual haj pilgrimage.

    "The interior ministry at the time of the haj always
    takes all the security measures it can for the safety of
    the pilgrims. This year, as in all the past years, we hope
    we can win the confidence of the pilgrims in this matter,"
    Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz said after a
    tour of the holy city of Mecca to check facilities for the
    pilgrims.

    This year's haj is the first since suicide bombings in
    the Saudi capital Riyadh killed more than 50 people last
    year and also follows the U.S. invasion of Iraq which has
    drawn Muslim militants towards Saudi Arabia's northern
    neighbour.

    Diplomats say the Saudi government is deeply worried
    the haj, which in past years has been plagued by stampedes
    and accidents, could become a target for attack or be used
    as a cover for militants to infiltrate the kingdom.

    "Islam is far from terrorism and rejects terrorism
    completely, and because Saudi Arabia is ruled by Islam and
    the people of Saudi Arabia are Muslim, Saudi Arabia rejects
    becoming a centre or a passage for terrorists. Reality
    rejects this completely," Prince Nayef told reporters.

    Most of the 1.2 million pilgrims expected from all over
    the world have already passed through the huge tented haj
    terminal at Jeddah airport, near the Red Sea coast. The
    rest of the two million pilgrims will be residents of the
    kingdom.

    Around 5,000 troops including anti-terrorist forces in
    black balaclavas, elite special forces and crowd control
    personnel performed a march past Prince Nayef on the plain
    of Arafat, one of the main pilgrimage sites.

    Nayef did not say how many troops in total would be
    deployed to keep the pilgrims safe. Any attack on Muslims
    in Mecca by supporters of Saudi-born militant Osama bin
    Laden's al Qaeda network would be a blow to the Saudi
    ruling family's authority.

    Last November Prince Nayef said a cache of weapons and
    explosives uncovered in Mecca could have been prepared for
    attacks against pilgrims.

    Earlier this month one of several captured militants
    shown on state television said he had been taken to a
    training camp outside Mecca. But Prince Nayef denied that
    any such camps had existed anywhere in the kingdom.

    The main rites of the five-day pilgrimage begin on
    Friday.

    Haj is an obligation for every able-bodied Muslim who
    can afford to make the trip.



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