Saudi to host relatives of Egyptian 'martyrs' for Hajj

By Hussein al-Qabani

CAIRO (AA) - Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz on Monday offered to host 1,000 relatives of slain Egyptian army and police personnel -- killed in recent militant attacks -- for the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca and Medina.

“The king has offered to host 1,000 relatives of Egyptian police martyrs to perform this year’s Hajj pilgrimage,” Riyadh’s ambassador to Cairo, Ahmed al-Qattan, said in an official statement.

“The royal offer stands as a tribute to the [Egyptian] martyrs who sacrificed their lives to defend their homeland,” he added.

While Saudi Arabia frequently provides Egyptian officials with free pilgrimage visas, this will be the first time for the kingdom to host relatives of slain Egyptian security personnel.

In a Sunday statement broadcast on Egyptian television, al-Qattan said the kingdom also intended to host 1,000 relatives of Palestinian martyrs -- 500 from Gaza and 500 from the West Bank -- for this year’s pilgrimage.

Since Egypt’s first freely elected president was ousted in a 2013 military coup, hundreds of security personnel have been killed in militant attacks across the country, especially in the restive Sinai Peninsula.