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Joint teams dispatched to evacuate Indonesians in Yemen
The government has dispatched two teams to Yemen to help accelerate the evacuation of thousands of Indonesians residing in the Middle Eastern country, which has been engulfed by intense armed conflict, says a Foreign Ministry official
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he government has dispatched two teams to Yemen to help accelerate the evacuation of thousands of Indonesians residing in the Middle Eastern country, which has been engulfed by intense armed conflict, says a Foreign Ministry official.
'The teams comprise officials and personnel from the Foreign Ministry, National Police, Air Force and other relevant institutions. They are going to depart today,' the ministry's director for legal aid and the protection of Indonesian nationals overseas, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, told a press conference on Wednesday.
He said he was optimistic the teams would be able to effectively locate and repatriate Indonesians in Yemen because of the experiences of members of the teams. 'They are the ones who helped evacuate Indonesians from Tripoli [Libya] and Damascus [Syria],' he said.
According to the ministry, there were around 4,100 Indonesians currently residing in Yemen, mostly migrant workers and students.
Iqbal said that the first team, consisting of 15 people, would enter Yemen through Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while the second would cross the border via Oman. 'Depending on the actual situation on the ground, things may change,' he said.
By the time he delivered the press conference, there were 309 Indonesians being evacuated using 16 ground vehicles, Iqbal said.
'The option to evacuate via air and sea are still there. The Air Force has been on standby. The no-fly zone has just been lifted but we don't know how long it will last,' he said.
Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir added that the Indonesians would not be repatriated directly to Indonesia. The government would use Salala in Oman as the base for the teams, he said. 'Salala has a good international airport. The city is safe and not too busy because Oman is currently a stable country.'
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Moeldoko previously said that his force was ready for the evacuation. 'If the President asked us to go to Yemen right now, we are ready,' he said on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said that the government is committed to striving through various means to save Indonesian citizens entrapped in Yemen, which has seen an escalating civil war between the government and Shia-based Houthi rebels. (nvn)
