Country Sacks Minister Of Religious Affairs After 49 Pilgrims Died In Hajj

Tunisia’s Minister of religious affairs, Ibrahim Chaibi, has been sacked after 49 Tunisians died in this year’s hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

According to an AFP tally on Friday, the death toll has risen to 1126, more than half of them from Egypt.

The president “decided to end the duties of Ibrahim Chaibi, the minister of religious affairs,” a statement by the Presidency who posted on Facebook said without giving any further details.

The Tunisian foreign ministry on Tuesday reported the death of 35 Tunisian pilgrims, but the number has risen to 49 so far, according to Tunisian media.

The ministry didn’t specify whether the deaths were related to high temperatures, adding that most of the dead had travelled to Saudi Arabia with tourist visas and outside of the Saudi government’s official pilgrimage programme.

Deaths during the pilgrimage have also been confirmed by Malaysia, India, Jordan, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, Sudan and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.