World leaders gather in Saudi Arabia to mourn King Abdullah

This May 14, 2012 file photo shows Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz drinking Arabic coffee during a welcoming ceremony for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders attending a summit in Riyadh. PHOTO | FILES | FAYEZ NURELDINE |

What you need to know:

  • Obama had been scheduled to visit the Taj Mahal but cancelled that following the death of Abdullah and will travel to Riyadh on Tuesday, the White House said.
  • He died on Friday at the age of about 90 after being hospitalised with pneumonia.
  • Africa was also represented, with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
  • President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon arrived on Saturday to pay respects.

RIYADH, Saturday

World leaders today headed to Saudi Arabia to offer condolences following the death of King Abdullah, with US President Barack Obama cutting short a trip to India to pay respects.

Obama had been scheduled to visit the Taj Mahal but cancelled that following the death of Abdullah and will travel to Riyadh on Tuesday, the White House said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince Charles and French President Francois Hollande were among the leaders expected in the Saudi capital on Saturday to offer condolences to new King Salman.

Abdullah was a cautious reformer who led the Gulf state through a turbulent decade in a region shaken by the Arab Spring uprisings and Islamic extremism.

He died on Friday at the age of about 90 after being hospitalised with pneumonia.

Since Abdullah took the throne in 2005, Riyadh has been a prime Arab ally of Washington, last year joining the coalition carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group.

World leaders have praised the king as a key mediator between Muslims and the West, but campaigners criticised his rights record and urged Salman to do more to protect freedom of speech and women’s rights.

Gulf rulers, and leaders including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, were among those who attended Abdullah’s traditionally simple funeral at Riyadh’s Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque on Friday.

AFRICA PRESENT

Africa was also represented, with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon arrived on Saturday to pay respects.

On Friday, the late king’s body, wrapped in a cream-coloured shroud, was borne on a litter by members of the royal family wearing red-and-white checked headgear.

The body was quickly moved to nearby Al-Od public cemetery and buried, in a grave marked only by a book-sized plain grey stone.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived later to deliver condolences, as did Iraqi President Fuad Masum.
Masum had met with Abdullah last November, helping to repair long-strained relations between the neighbours.

On Friday evening, hundreds of Saudis queued to enter a royal palace where they rubbed cheeks and kissed the hands of their new leaders, in a symbolic pledge of allegiance.

Similar pledge gatherings were planned for Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Obama paid tribute to Abdullah as a “valued” ally as the State Department indicated cooperation between Washington and Riyadh would continue.

Salman pledged to keep the conservative, oil-rich Muslim kingdom on a steady course and moved to cement his hold on power.

In his first public statement as king, Salman, 79, vowed to “remain, with God’s strength, attached to the straight path that this state has walked since its establishment”.