Aljazeera.net correspondents
Baghdad- Millions of visitors from different regions of Iraq and some countries of the world are heading these days to the city of Karbala to perform the Arbaeen pilgrimage of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, the grandson of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, in a huge gathering that mobilizes all service and security forces in all state institutions to complete it in the best possible way, according to what was announced by the spokesman for government media, Haider Majeed.
Shiite Muslims commemorate this anniversary 40 days after Ashura, the anniversary of the killing of Imam Hussein and most of his family members in the Battle of Karbala – also known as the Battle of Karbala – at the hands of the army of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid bin Muawiyah in 680 AD.
As part of the plans to secure the visit, the Baghdad Operations Command announced last Wednesday the launch of its extensive plan to secure the visitors, which includes broad participation from the security forces affiliated with the Ministries of Defense and Interior and other security agencies, by opening headquarters and deploying patrols on the axes and routes of the visitors’ movement, with precise field follow-up, in addition to the participation of representatives of supporting government institutions and departments.
Majeed said in a statement to the official Iraqi agency, “There is a mobilization of government efforts for the visit, starting from the border crossings and receiving the arrivals, in addition to increasing the number of civilian and military employees in the passport and nationality departments and departments, increasing the number of computers and increasing the entry points for the arrivals.” The Ministry of Transport also announced the addition of 350 buses to transport visitors from the border crossings.
The Iranian neighbor has the lion's share in the number of participants in the visit, as Hamid Ahmadi, a member of the Central Committee for the Arbaeen Pilgrimage in Iran, previously revealed that 1,720,000 Iranians had registered on the visit's website, indicating that the number of participants is expected to reach 4 million Iranians.
Temperatures exceeding 50 did not prevent millions of visitors from continuing to walk hundreds of kilometres to perform the rituals of the visit. Everyone Al Jazeera Net spoke to agreed that all visitors are welcome, regardless of their nationalities, colours and countries.
Al Jazeera Net surveyed the opinions of some citizens, procession owners, and security officials concerned with providing protection. The commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces’ Special Operations Regiment, Rafid Al-Khaikani, confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that “the 25th Brigade has completed its deployment in Karbala Governorate to assist and protect visitors during the Arbaeen pilgrimage,” indicating that “the security situation is stable and there are no problems, and that there is cooperation between the Popular Mobilization Forces, the security forces, and the visitors.”
Citizen Halima Hussein Hadi told Al Jazeera Net that “the situation is good, and food tables are spread out to serve visitors,” noting that “Iraq’s doors are open to all guests.” Saeb Ahmed, one of the owners of the processions, said that “their gain is not material, but rather in serving the visitors and guests of Karbala without differentiating between their nationalities.”
Citizen Sayed Abbas Latif also stated that the continuation of visitors walking towards Karbala in the very high temperature was a “big surprise,” noting that “visitor services continue without any problems on the visitors’ road.”
For his part, Yahya Qusul, the owner of another procession, said that they provide support independently, without assistance from a religious or governmental authority to serve the visitors. He explained, “We provide approximately 10,000 meals daily, 3 meals daily for 8 days.”