Yemeni can’t go to Saudi ArabiaMore than 12,000 passports delayed [Archives:2003/685/Local News]

Mohammed bin Sallam
SANA’A, Nov. 12 – The Saudi Consulate in Yemen returned more than 12,000 passports two weeks ago, saying it received orders issued by the Saudi foreign ministry to suspend visas, Assahwa Net reports.
Those passports were handed by the travel and pilgrimage agencies before the month of Ramadhan.
Some of the pilgrimage agencies have accused the Saudi Embassy of causing the problem after the Ministry of the Umrah and Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia had agreed to approve the passports.
The Saudi Embassy rejected the accusations made by those agencies, which hold the Saudi Consulate responsible for the delay, depriving Yemeni citizens from performing the Umrah, (minor pilgrimage) during the month of Ramadhan.
“The delivery of the passports by the travel and pilgrimage agencies was too late. Passports were delivered after a week was elapsed since the Ministry of the Umrah & Pilgrimage has approved the number of pilgrims,” a source at the Saudi embassy said.
A number of travel and tourism agencies asking the Yemeni foreign ministry to pressure the Saudi officials to approve the number of pilgrims to the Holy Land to perform the minor pilgrimage.
A source said that in the travel and pilgrimage agencies will have huge financial losses. “This is not only enough, pilgrims who perform the minor pilgrimage are exposed also to several problems. As a result of these, a number of the travel agencies had to close its doors,” a source said.
At the same time, a Yemeni citizen was killed last week after a quarrel erupted between a pilgrims and the travel agency owner due to a passport delay.
The citizen was not convinced that his passport was with the Saudi consulate. This motivated him to fire a shot at an employee at one of the travel agencies, but another citizen was killed.
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