Off the wire
• Roundup: 100 days into Lithuanian euro adoption litas almost out of circulation, public positive  • Urgent: UN chief calls for safe delivery of life-saving assistance in Yemen  • France starts criminal probe into HSBC's tax dodging practice  • Forces kill 47 militants in NW Pakistan  • U.S. stocks slightly lower at midday amid jobless claims, earnings results  • Kenya engages global PR firm to promote tourism investments  • One man dies in sports plane crash in Hungary  • German exports rebound in February  • Tens of thousands strike against austerity across France  • Giant burger sets new record in Singapore  
You are here: 　 Home

Egypt evacuates over 1,100 citizens from conflict-torn Yemen

Xinhua, April 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Egyptian authorities have evacuated 1,150 citizens since the Yemeni crisis surged a couple of weeks ago, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

"Al-Tawal border crossing between Yemen and Saudi Arabia received more than 100 Egyptians since Wednesday until Thursday morning," Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Badr Abdel-Atty said in the statement.

He added that some of the evacuated citizens crossed Al-Khadraa and Al-Wadi'a Yemeni-Saudi border crossings while others were evacuated through adjacent Oman and nearby Djibouti.

"The Foreign Ministry renews recommendation for Egyptians in Yemen to use Al-Tawal border crossing that operates around the clock," the spokesman said.

Around 7,000 Egyptian nationals have been working in Yemen and about 500 of them are married to Yemenis, according to the Egyptian Manpower and Immigration Ministry.

The Yemeni crisis rose since Shiite Houthi militants have seized several cities in the country, including capital Sanaa, since September 2014 and have recently forced Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Since late March, a Saudi-led 10-nation coalition has been launching airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in support of Hadi's legitimacy.

The Yemeni crisis raises fears that the Houthis, widely perceived to be backed by Iran, may seize the nearby Bab al-Mandab Strait and pose a threat to the national security of the surrounding Gulf States. However, Tehran denies that it is arming the Shiite militants in the conflict-torn country. Endit