File photo: Emergency teams at the site of accident in the Grand Mosque in Mecca. (AFP)
Ivory Coast Saturday announced a day of mourning for victims of last month's stampede at the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, as the African nation's death toll in the tragedy rose to 52.
President Alassane Ouattara declared next Saturday as a day of national mourning for the disaster at Mina, near Mecca, in which more than 1,700 people died - the deadliest incident in the pilgrimage's history.
Ivory Coast's director general of religions Messamba Bamba said 52 of its citizens were now confirmed to have died - up from a previous toll of 14 - with seven still unaccounted for.
The day of mourning will come on the eve of Ivory Coast's presidential election, in which Ouattara is strong favourite to win reelection.
More than 5,000 Muslims travelled to Saudi Arabia from Ivory Coast this year for hajj.
The kingdom has defended its organisation of the hajj and its response to the disaster after the tragedy provoked strong criticism, mainly from its arch-rival Iran, which suffered the most deaths in the stampede.