Darfuri pilgrims stranded in Medina

Around 2500 pilgrims from Darfur are still stranded in Medina after completion of their visit there, because the company Sun Air Aviation failed to bring them back to Nyala Airport, as had been agreed.

Around 2500 pilgrims from Darfur are still stranded in Medina after completion of their visit there, because the company Sun Air Aviation failed to bring them back to Nyala Airport, as had been agreed.Moreover, the management of the hotel where they were staying yesterday asked the pilgrims to evacuate the hotel after the expiration of the contract period. The pilgrims live in difficult circumstances and most of them have to cope with only one meal a day.

Last Saturday, the pilgrims began gathering as planned at the Medina Airport to travel directly to Nyala. According to the Deputy Chief of the Sudanese Hajj Mission to Medina, Abdulaziz Mohammed, the company Sun Air failed to get permission to land at Medina Airport, and he blamed the company for what happened.

The company’s representative told the newspaper Bells of Freedom the company managed to get permission from Saudi authorities yesterday for three trips and it has hired a jumbo jet nine capable of carrying 540 passengers.