TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has evacuated a total of 700 Indonesians from war-torn Yemen since December 2014. Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi said the number of Indonesians seeking to exit the country had continued to increase.
“Around 110 of our citizens from Yemen that we evacuated through Muscat have arrived safely in the motherland. Today, 34 people flying with Emirates arrived at around 3 p.m. Another 42 are also scheduled to arrive at 5 p.m. in Denpasar, while two others in Jakarta at 2:25 p.m. and 10:25 p.m., respectively,” she told a briefing on the developments on the evacuation of Indonesians from Yemen in Palapa Room at her ministry in Pejambon, Jakarta, on Monday, April 6, 2015.
Retno said the government had evacuated 332 Indonesians from Yemen in December 2014, another 148 in February-March 2015, 110 on Sunday, and 110 on Monday. “So in total 700 Indonesians have arrived in Indonesia so far,” she said.
Retno continued that 92 Indonesians had left Yemen but yet to arrive in Indonesia—42 of whom are in Jizan, 40 are leaving Al Hudaidah for Jizan, and another 10 in Djibouti. “So there are 92 more people who are ready for evacuation,” she said.
NATALIA SANTI
