Al-Dayar: Saudi deputy crown prince causes stampede in Mena

'The large convoy of Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, the King's son and deputy crown prince, that was escorted by over 350 security forces, including 200 army men and 150 policemen, sped up the road to go through the pilgrims that were moving towards the site of the 'Stoning the Devil' ritual, causing panic among millions of pilgrims who were on the move from the opposite direction and caused the stampede,' the Arabic language al-Dyar newspaper, disclosed on Thursday evening.

'That's why the ruler of Mecca has distanced himself from the case, stressing that the issue should be studied and decided by the King,' it added.

Observers said the revelation explains why two of the roads to the 'Stoning the Devil' site have been closed.

Eye witnesses said earlier that the Saudi police and security forces had closed two of the few roads to the stone column that were to be used by millions of pilgrims to do the 'Stoning the Devil' ritual in Mena today.

The stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season killed more than 1,200 people and left over 1,500 others wounded.

The stampede occurred during the ritual known as 'Stoning the Devil' in Mena, about two miles from Mecca.

Some 95 Iranians have also lost their lives in the incident, while 150 others have been wounded.

Saeed Ohadi, the head of Iran's Hajj organization, accused Saudi Arabia of safety errors and mismanagement.

He said for 'unknown reasons' the paths had been closed off near the scene of the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual where the accident later took place.

'This caused this tragic incident,' he told the Iranian state television.

Eyewitnesses also said that even after incident the Saudi security and military forces closed all paths leading to the scene and the bodies of pilgrims have piled up on each other.

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