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National Police send team to help evacuation
The National Police will send a special task force to Yemen on Wednesday to accelerate the evacuation of Indonesians in the crisis-hit country
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he National Police will send a special task force to Yemen on Wednesday to accelerate the evacuation of Indonesians in the crisis-hit country.
Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto told reporters on Tuesday that a team of seven would assist the Foreign Ministry in bringing a large number of Indonesians back home safely.
'Acting National Police chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti ordered the police officers to be sent [on Wednesday] to help evacuate more than 2,000 Indonesians there,' he said at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.
On Saturday, the Foreign Ministry urged Indonesians to sign up for repatriation from Yemen as a result of deteriorating security in the country, which saw Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi flee following the advance of Houthi rebels into Aden.
The ministry recorded that there were over 4,000 Indonesian nationals living in Yemen, including 2,686 students and 1,488 migrant workers.
Agus explained that the task force, led by Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti, would consist of five male officers and two female officers from various units, including the police force's medical division.
The task force is slated to be stationed in Sana'a in Yemen and Salalah in Oman, he said.
'The officers will be stationed in Yemen and Oman for 14 days. Whether they stay for a shorter or longer period depends on the situation,' Agus explained.
When asked about the method of evacuation, Agus said the Foreign Ministry would decide and the task force would follow suit.
Separately, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir confirmed the police task force would travel to Yemen on Wednesday.
'The evacuation process is still in progress and the ministry is working as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible,' he told The Jakarta Post.
Arrmanatha explained that 230 Indonesians were in Al Hudaydah, Yemen, waiting to be evacuated.
Another 45 Indonesians would also soon be transferred from Sana'a to Al Hudaydah.
According to the Indonesian Embassy in Sana'a, 141 Indonesians had already been evacuated by Saturday.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Iqbal, head of the ministry's division for the protection of Indonesian citizens and legal agencies, said the Indonesian government had received flight clearance for the Air Force's Boeing 737 to evacuate citizens.
Further, he said the Yemeni government had released eight of 23 Indonesians that had been arrested in Shumaila, Sana'a, and that the ministry was still working to free the remaining 15.
'The embassy's ties with all factions in Yemen are good so we have knowledge of where they are,' Iqbal said.
