MAKKAH – The Security Forces of the Grand Mosque have given crowd management top priority in the security plan which will be implemented in the last ten days of Ramadan. The plan focuses on monitoring Al-Mataf area inside the Grand Mosque and preventing any form of disruption. The operations room will keep officers organizing the movement in Al-Mataf area posted on hourly basis about the general situation of crowds. Brig. Yehya Al-Zahrani, commander of security forces in the Grand Mosque, said that when the Tawaf area becomes crowded, people will not be allowed to perform prayer inside the area and will be directed to another place. Also, only Umrah performers will be permitted to enter Al-Mataf area. “The most difficult part is preventing people who perform the Tawaf ritual from performing prayer behind Maqam Ibrahim (Station of Ibrahim). Officers in charge of crowd control will deal with this matter professionally and prevent anyone from jeopardizing their life and that of others,” said Brig. Al-Zahrani. “Just like previous years, no one will be allowed to perform funeral prayer inside Al-Mataf area. Our No. 1 goal is to manage the crowds smoothly and avoid any type of disruption,” he added. According to the plan, Al-Mataf area has been divided into three sections with a high-ranking officer supervising the work of security officers in his respective section.
