War in Sudan complicates route to Hajj
Pilgrims circle the Ka'aba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (File photo: Richard Mortel / Creative Commons)
SUDAN –
Thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the world have already arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj this year. The war that erupted in the country on April 15 means pilgrims from Sudan must take a long road to reach Mecca.
Twenty Darfuri pilgrims have already arrived in Nyala, capital of South Darfur. They will head to Ed Daein, capital of East Darfur, and from there to El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan. After that, they will travel to Port Sudan, and then to Saudi Arabia on June 26.
“The crisis we are going through caused communication networks to go out of service. We have been isolated for a whole month and this hindered dozens of people who want to perform the Hajj from completing their documents,” Habib Ali, secretary of the Hajj and Umrah Administration in West Darfur, told Radio Dabanga on Friday.
On May 23, Radio Dabanga reported, that the communication infrastructure has been damaged by clashes in many parts of Darfur.
“Despite these unfortunate events, members of our administration travelled to Chad and they were able to complete the documents of 20 out of 560 people.”
After the eruption of the war, Sudan airport has shut down and as reported by Radio Dabanga on June 2, the Civil Aviation Authority extended its closure to civil aviation.
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