Iraq’s Civil Defense Directorate has devised a plan to secure the pilgrims flooding into Iraq on the annual religious event of the Arbaeeen pilgrimage.
In a statement to Alghadeer News, the Director-General of the Civil Defense, Brigadier Kadhem Salman Buhan, said, “this year’s early plan will be executed in cooperation with the Operation Commands, local police departments, and other agencies.”
“All the capabilities of the directorate will be deployed early this year in accordance with a central plan and sup-plan for the governorates,”teams will be stationed on the roads. In Karbala, additional firetrucks and ambulances will be deployed.”
The plan divides the entire area to blocks, the area of each is three kilometers, “A Firetruck and an ambulance will be assigned to each block.”
he noted, “CBMS and emergency squads equipped with defibrillators will also be present be on the field.”
“The plan will be put into force at the beginning of the pilgrimage and before the peak,” he added.
The Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage, or the Arbaʽeen Walk, is the world’s largest annual public gatherings. It is held at Karbala, Iraq, at the end of the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual for commemorating the martyrdom of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad and the third Shia Muslim Imam, Hussain ibn Ali’s in 61 AH (680 AD).