Arafat´s body flown to Cairo

cctv.com 11-12-2004 09:32

The body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has arrived at Cairo International Airport. Officials in Egypt have prepared a military funeral, which will be the focal point of mourning for dignitaries from around the world.

A white Airbus A-319 of the French presidency brought the coffin of Arafat to the Cairo airport. Egyptian First Lady Susan Mubarak and senior Egyptian officials greeted Arafat's widow, Suha.

Arafat's body will be kept for a night in the mosque inside the al Jalaa military hospital in Cairo's Heliopolis District. And it's there the praying ceremony will start on Friday morning.

Special prayers for the dead will be lead by Egypt's top Muslim cleric, the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar Mohammed Sayed Tantawi. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will preside over the military funeral.

More than 50 countries have so far said they'll send representatives to pay their last respects. Egypt has tightened security around the Cairo International Airport and blocked nearby main roads.

In New York, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has paid tribute to the late Palestinian leader. He called on the international community to play its full role to ensure implementation of the mideast peace process.

Arafat was born in Cairo in 1929 and graduated from an engineering school there. After the military funeral, Arafat's body will then be carried to the al Mazaa military base in eastern Cairo and airlifted to his battered headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah for burial.

Editor:Hu  Source:CCTV.com