Saudi says ready for any sectarian trouble at haj

RIYADH, Dec 14 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia is ready to handle any outbreak of sectarian trouble between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims at the haj pilgrimage later this month, the interior minister said.

Violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites has taken Iraq to the brink of civil war and Sunni-Shi'ite tension is high in Lebanon, where Shi'ites and members of other religious groups are leading efforts to bring down the Sunni-backed government.

''There is no concern about this since everyone is coming to perform haj and I think the fear of God will be enough of a deterrent,'' Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz told reporters in comments carried in state media.

''But we have taken all security precautions and we do not discount any incident. We are completely ready, but hope we don't have to use our capabilities,'' he added.

Around 1.5 million Muslims from around the world are expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks for the haj pilgrimage which begins in late December.

Security is usually tight around the annual rites, which have in the past seen political protests by pilgrims from Iran and other countries.

In 1979, radical Muslims of Saudi Arabia's hardline Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam managed to seize the Grand Mosque in Mecca in a two-week stand-off that the US-allied absolute monarchy has been determined never to see happen again.

Al Qaeda militants, who hold dear the memory of the Mecca rebellion, launched a violent campaign to bring down the Saudi monarchy in 2003, targeting foreigners, oil installations and government buildings.

Gunmen killed two Saudi security personnel last week when they opened fire on a guard post at a prison in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, the main arrival point for most pilgrims just 45 minutes drive from Mecca.

The kingdom said earlier this month it had detained 136 foreign and Saudi militants, some of whom were posing as pilgrims, who were planning a series of suicide bombings and assassinations around the country.

The government has summoned a number of wanted persons to hand themselves over to the authorities for questioning before the end of this month.

Reuters BDP VV1829