Azeri pilgrims unable to come home

About 800 Azerbaijani pilgrims in Mecca are currently unable to return home. They are blaming the Caucasus Clerical Office for this, local ATV channel said.

The pilgrims, who were supposed to return to Baku two days ago, are currently living in poor conditions. They say that they have run out of money, while the hotels they are staying in are dirty and have no water supply.

The pilgrims say that they were left with no supervision and no one is interested in their situation. They say that among them are people who contracted infectious diseases and that they did not receive the envisioned medical aid.

The Clerical Office spokesman Haji Akif explained the delaying return of pilgrims with problems related to the runway, saying that the entity is currently in talks over the issue.

Another source said that airplanes of AzAL state concern will be able to make their first flight to bring the pilgrims home no earlier than on Friday.*