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TNI ready to evacuate Indonesians from Yemen: Moeldoko
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen
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ndonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Moeldoko said he was still waiting for an order from President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo via Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi to rescue Indonesian nationals entrapped in Yemen because of armed conflict in the country.
'I have conveyed to the foreign minister that the Indonesian Air Force is fully ready. If we are requested to go to Yemen right now, we are ready. We are just waiting for an order from President Jokowi via the minister,' Moeldoko said as quoted by Antara news agency.
He was speaking after the 2015 Quick Reaction Strike Force (PPRC) joint military exercise in Poso, Central Sulawesi, on Tuesday.
According to Moeldoko, the rescue of Indonesian citizens in Yemen would be conducted using Air Force airplanes. The evacuees would later be picked up by buses and taken to an air force base or other safe place before flying back to Indonesia on commercial planes.
'Our duty is to save Indonesians in Yemen after which they will be repatriated via civilian flights to Indonesia,' he said.
The Indonesian government has said it is committed to striving through various means to save its citizens entrapped in Yemen, which has seen an escalating civil war between the government and Shia-based Houthi rebels.
'I've just talked with the foreign minister on how to evacuate [Indonesian nationals from Yemen],' Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Monday.
He said issues discussed included evacuation paths, which might involve air, land and sea routes, and places that needed to be passed through during the evacuation process, such as Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Oman and Saudi Arabia. (dyl/ebf)(+++)
