Gulf row stunts Qatar hajj numbers

Doha : Qatar has sent only dozens of its citizens across the border to Saudi Arabia for this week's hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites because of the increasingly bitter crisis between the Gulf neighbours.

The annual pilgrimage that draws two million Muslim faithful from across the globe and starts this year on Wednesday has become embroiled in a dispute between Doha and Riyadh now nearing its third month.

Qatar's only land border, which it shares with Saudi Arabia, has been closed and travel, diplomatic and economic sanctions imposed over charges that Doha supports Islamist extremists and has too close ties to Riyadh's regional rival Iran. 

Doha has strongly denied the accusations.

Impacting on the hajj, only a few dozen Qatari nationals have been able to travel to Mecca and Medina, western Saudi Arabia, according to a member of Qatar's state-linked National Human Rights Committee (NHRC).

"Through the border, we estimate 60 to 70 people (travelled) last week," he told AFP. "It's not an official figure, we are waiting for an official figure."

Media reports in Saudi Arabia have put the number at up to 1,200 Qataris.

In sharp contrast, 12,000 Qataris took part in last year's hajj, a pillar of Islam that capable Muslims must perform at least once in their lives, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency.