Several Yemeni pilgrims have expressed their gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for facilitating their Haj procedures at all checkpoints. The pilgrims faced many obstacles inside Yemen while on their way to perform Haj and were robbed by Houthi gangs but felt relieved when they reached the Saudi borders and entered the Kingdom, Al-Madina daily reported. "We felt peaceful and secure in Makkah and Madinah because of the facilities provided by the Saudi government. We prayed to Allah to protect the Saudi government and people against all evils," said Abdo Hussain, the supervisor of the group. Houthi rebels in Sanaa put a lot of obstacles to prevent Yemeni pilgrims from performing Haj and refused in the beginning to meet the requirements of Haj placed by the Saudi government, Hussain added. Despite these obstacles and failure to meet the requirements, Yemeni pilgrims were allowed to enter the Kingdom and perform Haj. Abdullah Haidara, one of the pilgrims, could not help but feel overwhelmed being in Mina and the Holy Sites. "I've never thought I'd perform Haj this year because of the challenges that faced most of the Yemeni pilgrims because of Houthi rebels. We will never be able to thank the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for all the facilities provided to us," he said. Essam Ahmad, another pilgrim, said border officers gave Yemeni pilgrims a warm welcome and even expedited the procedures to let them pass through quickly and continue their Haj journey. "Many pilgrims were worried that the current political situation in Yemen might prevent them from performing Haj. Because of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Yemen's legitimate government, we were issued Haj visas and today we are in Mina because of that," he explained.
