JEDDAH [SCN - 4/24/97] - Thousand of haj fire victims in Saudi Arabia were not allowed to flee from the Mina camp fire site, US and Saudi intelligence sources told Shanti RTV news agency.

The pilgrims who were killed in the fire near Makkah last Tuesday (15 April 1997) could have fled the flames, "but instead of evacuating around 700,000 pilgrims promptly from the fire site to safety, the incompetent and negligent Saudi security agents locked them inside the government controlled compound, known and controlled exit routes. Thousands of victims could have been evacuated to safety from the mismanaged death trap," the sources told Shanti RTV news agency.

Most of the victims were old, fragile, women and disabled pilgrims. "During and after the fire there was chaos and panic, and the emergency services failed to provide timely treatment. The priority of the unaccountable Saudi officials before, during and after Haj, from the king Fahd down, is almost always directed towards the VIPs and political security or survival," a Saudi intelligence source told Shanti RTV news agency.

Able-bodied Muslims are obliged to make the haj at least once if they can afford it. Most of the killed and injured were crushed in the stampede, and thousands are still unaccounted for, and hundreds of badly burnt victims are yet to be identified. The source said identification was difficult as many bodies were severely burnt.

"Unaccountable officials and security agents in Saudi Arabia thought the fire would not reach other tents. They did not allow the pilgrims to escape through safe and secured Saudi government encampment, allegedly to prevent panicked exodus," the sources explained. Finding the compound gates locked, some pilgrims tore down corrugated tin walls that divided the 70,000 camps and fled.

"This was another preventable tragedy. It was caused by a failure in prevention and management. The Makkah municipality had to send 250 undertakers to bury the dead," according to MIRA (the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia).

The haj has been the scene of several recent preventable disasters, including the deaths in stampedes of more than 1,700 pilgrims in 1990 and 1994. "The preventable tragedies have led to growing criticism of royal Saudi dictators by pilgrims and Muslim governments who say the self-serving cutodians of holy shrines are unfit manage and host the annual event," a Saudi intelligence source told Shanti RTV.

Royal Saudi dictators, the self-preserving custodians of Islam's two holiest shrines, claim the country has spent US $19 billion on expanding and upgrading haj facilities to ensure the comfort and safety of the pilgrims. Last week more than 16,000 Saudi security agents patrolled the holy areas and roads leading to the holy sites and hundreds of police helicopters circled overhead. Security cameras installed on main roads, bridges and tunnels monitor pilgrims' movements to ensure that haj is policed and video-taped. Saudi officials order the pilgrims to abide by security instructions. More than 37,500 doctors, nurses, security agents, bakers, cleaners and garbage collectors are hired on short-term contracts every year to service the pilgrims.

The fire consumed some 70,000 tents in Mina, near Makkah on Tuesday 15 April 1997. Our insider sources confirmed that over 4,000 pilgrims were killed by the fire!! This gruesome count is as of Thursday 17 April 1997, evening, and steadily increasing. There is little hope for those with sever burns, as the country lacks adequate facilities for any significant number of burn victims. We expect the death toll to exceed the 6,000 mark, making this one of the biggest catastrophes in Hajj history. Eyewitnesses said that the dead were mostly Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. The fire had also engulfed camps of some Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Sudanese, Yemeni, Moroccan and Saudi nationals. The fire sparked before midday and extinguished after about seven hours, when every thing was already consumed and nothing left to feed it. There was chaos everywhere. Panic spread through the camps as fast as the blaze. During and after the fire the emergency services failed to provide timely or proper treatment. The priority of the unaccountable, corrupt and inept Saudi officials before, during and after Hajj, from King Fahd down, is almost always directed towards the royals and their guests and lackeys, political security or survival. Fahd's lackey and ambassador in London, Ghazi Algosaibi, said in a statement: (Investigations indicate that the fire was an accident)!! We are not aware about any investigation, short of "miracles" or "black magic", which could turn such a result so quickly! He further day dreamed: (We are faced with a human tragedy, which has no political implications). The Aal Saud dictators, the self-preserving "custodians" of Islam's two holiest shrines, and their mouth pieces, claim the country has spent US $19 billion on expanding and upgrading Hajj facilities to ensure the comfort and safety of the pilgrims. But they failed to disclose, how much of this was spent on commissions; and how much on palaces, royal hospitality and secret services of the regime; And how stupid and without vision the meagre rest was mis-managed! The fatal blaze is not the first tragedy to strike Muslims on pilgrimage to Makkah under the "blessed" Aal Saud rule. In 1975 there was a comparable fire, which killed thousands. The real death toll was never disclosed. The regime gunned down over four hundred unarmed Iranian pilgrims in 1987 and denied the whole incident. Over 5,000 pilgrims were crushed to death in Al-Mu'aisim tunnel in 1990, but the regime admitted a death toll of only 1420 innocent souls and had the audacity to blame "Fate, Destiny and Divine Predetermination". The results of the investigation indicating a possible involvement of the Kuwaiti royal family was covered up. The most recent tragedy is the stampede at the "stoning" site, in 1994, caused by a princess, which insisted in using her car in the crowd! As a result of that criminal behaviour several thousand lost their lives, from whom only 271 were admitted by the regime! Aal Saud are not only inept and lacking of any vision, they have betrayed the trust and mis-managed the holy shrines! It is about time for Aal Saud to retire, peacefully or otherwise!!