29 Sri Lankans return home from Yemen

Twenty-nine Sri Lankans returned back to Sri Lanka from war ravaged Yemen on Wednesday following a joint evacuation effort launched by the Sri Lankan and Chinese governments, a government minister said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith Perera, after welcoming the Sri Lankan nationals, told journalists at the country's Bandaranaike International Airport that the return of these citizens was a major victory for the government and thanked China in assisting them in their evacuation efforts.

"China has always been a very good friend and they helped us at a time when we urgently needed assistance in getting back our citizens. At the same time, the safe return of these nationals is also a major victory for the government as they have returned back just days after war broke out in Yemen," Perera said.

"Still many citizens from other nations remain trapped in Yemen and it is a victory that we are able to get our citizens out so quickly," the Deputy Minister added.

Minister of Foreign Employment Thalatha Athukorala told journalists that it was the responsibility of her ministry to look into the welfare and safety of all Sri Lankans employed overseas and added that the government was "extremely happy" that the citizens had returned home before the April holidays.

"We are happy we could evacuate them soon. Once before our citizens were trapped when war broke out in Kuwait, but this time we were able to act swiftly and evacuated our citizens to safety," she said.

The remaining 17 Sri Lankans who have been evacuated to Djibouti from Yemen are expected to return back to the island nation on Friday, completing the government's evacuation efforts. Endi