The death toll of Nigerian pilgrims who died in last month’s Hajj stampede at Mina in Saudi Arabia has continued to mount.
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King Salman said he would not allow any “hidden hands” to politicise the tragedy and divide Muslims. At least 56 pilgrims have been laid to rest in Saudi Arabia out of the total.
“The Saudi government can not handle the Hajj with this imprudence, negligence, and traditional methods; therefore, it should reconsider the management of the Hajj by drawing on Islamic countries’ potential”, said Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ali Qazi-Askar, the representative of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for Hajj and pilgrimage affairs.
Iranian leaders have accused Saudi Arabia of mismanagement and ineptitude and called for an independent body to oversee the Hajj after the disaster, in which two crowds converged on a narrow road in Mina.
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Although Saudi authorities confirmed more than 769 pilgrims from across the world dead, the death toll is believed to be over 1,000 with Iran having the higher death casualty of over 400 people. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said the death toll among Egyptians has climbed to 181, with 53 still missing.
