MAKKAH, Feb 16: More than two million Muslims from all over the world converged on Makkah on Saturday amid strict security for the Haj.

Saudi authorities have beefed up the security presence in and around Makkah to control the massive gathering of Muslims.

Police were controlling the main entrances to Makkah to prevent unauthorized people from entering the city.

Thousands of police and security personnel have also been deployed at the major sacred sites on the outskirts of the city.

The authorities have mobilized some 60,000 employees and volunteers, in addition to 20,000 soldiers and security men, for the Haj.

Thousands of flights have landed at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, 75 kilometres west of Makkah, carrying hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from more than 100 countries.

An airport official said on Saturday more than one million pilgrims had already arrived by air up to Friday midnight.

Saturday midnight was the deadline for pilgrims to arrive by plane. The Saudi government has granted several exemptions to land after the deadline.

Among those who arrived were 890 Afghan pilgrims aboard two chartered planes. A total of 15,000 Afghans were enrolled for the Haj but airport officials said no more flights were expected from Kabul.

About 200,000 to 300,000 other pilgrims were expected to arrive by sea and land from outside of Saudi Arabia. They will be joined by more than half a million others from inside the kingdom.

Experts predict a turnout of around 2.5 million pilgrims, some 500,000 more than last year.

The health ministry has prepared some 21 hospitals and 300 medical centres, with a capacity of 7,000 beds, in Makkah, the surrounding sites and Madina, some 450 kilometres to the north. An extra 9,000 medical staff have been drafted in.—AFP