India to air-lift nationals from Yemen, confirms Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: India will be airlifting its nationals from strife-torn Yemen after getting permission from authorities to fly from Sanna for three hours a day.

“Today we got permission to fly from Sanaa for three hours a day. We will use the slot for evacuating our citizens everyday,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said a day after 80 Indians left the city for Djibouti.

According to officials sources, the government will chalk out a schedule for Air India sorties to evacuate the nationals.

Swaraj also tweeted that India was in the process of sending a ship with a capacity of 1,500 passengers. Yesterday, as many as 80 Indians left Sanaa for Djibouti where Indian mission will assist them in returning home.

The ministry has also set up a 24 hour Control Room to monitor the situation in Yemen where all the airports have been shut down.

There are about 3,500 Indians, most of whom are nurses, in various provinces of Yemen including Sana’a. Yemen is witnessing attacks by Shiite militiamen on the president and other state figures.

The rising unrest has fuelled longtime divisions in Yemen, where the government, Huthis, southern separatists, powerful Sunni tribes and the local al Qaeda branch are all vying for influence.

PTI