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Tunisian president sacks minister after dozens die on Hajj pilgrimage

Police officers stand guard as Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba as they perform Tawaf at the Grand Mosque, during the annual haj pilgrimage, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, June 18, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman)

By Reuters | Saturday, June 22, 2024

Brahim Chaibi, the minister of religious affairs, has been fired following the deaths of at least 49 Tunisians due to the extreme heat in Saudi Arabia this past week.

Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked Brahim Chaibi, the minister of religious affairs, following widespread criticism after the deaths of dozens of Tunisians taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage, the presidency said on Friday.

At least 49 Tunisians have died due to the extreme heat in Saudi Arabia during the past week. Tunisian families are still searching for several missing people.

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Meanwhile, Egypt formed a crisis unit on Thursday to investigate the deaths of Egyptians taking part in the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca during extreme heat, after medical and security sources said at least 530 Egyptians had died and 31 were missing.

In recent days, hundreds of people from different countries have died in punishing conditions for the Hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi Arabian city, where temperatures have at times exceeded 51 degrees Celsius (124 Fahrenheit).

The medical source, who was with the official Egyptian Hajj delegation, said the majority of those who died were not formally registered for the event with the authorities, which meant they could not access tents.

In a statement announcing the formation of the crisis unit on the orders of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's cabinet said 28 deaths had been confirmed from a group of 50,752 officially registered Egyptian pilgrims.

It gave no toll for unregistered pilgrims, saying Egypt was seeking an accurate inventory of the dead and missing and was coordinating with Saudi counterparts to arrange for the transfer of bodies.

Companies that had facilitated travel for unregistered pilgrims would be investigated and penalised, the cabinet added.

A Reuters witness said that during the pilgrimage thousands of pilgrims had lain on the streets, exposed to the sun, on the climb to Mount Arafat, one of the integral rituals of the journey.

The bodies of dead pilgrims were later covered with Ihram cloth—a simple garb worn by pilgrims—until medical vehicles arrived, the witness said.

The fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj is mandatory once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it and is the most significant manifestation of Islamic faith and unity. This year's event, which began last Friday, is expected to draw nearly 2 million pilgrims.

Climate scientists have said rising temperatures pose a growing threat to the event, although heat-related deaths along the Hajj are not new, and have been recorded back to the 1400s.

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