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Indonesia evacuates nationals from war-torn Yemen

Xinhua, March 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Indonesia will dispatch planes to evacuate its nationals from war-torn Yemen, and is asking Oman and Saudi Arabia to help secure the evacuation process, a minister said here on Monday.

"The situation has changed drastically, so we plan to reactivate all efforts faster. Within the next one or two days there will be deployment from Jakarta to help prepare the evacuation," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said in her office here.

Indonesia has been gradually evacuating its nationals from Yemen since early this month. As of now 148 people have returned from Yemen following the political turmoil in the country.

Following the Saudi Arabia-led air strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen, Indonesia would intensify the evacuation process with large-scale operations, she said.

The minister added that the operation would be fully backed up by the nation's air forces and its representative offices in Middle East countries.

She also said that Indonesia has contacted authorities in Oman and Saudi Arabia regarding the security of the evacuation.

"This is to ensure that our planes would not be targets of air strikes," she said.

Contacts with Oman and Saudi Arabia were also essential because Indonesia is also preparing to evacuate its nationals to those countries by buses and vessels.

According to data released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were 4,159 Indonesian nationals living in Yemen, including 2, 626 students. Endi