AL-MUKALLA: The government of Yemen has commenced the airlifting of hundreds of Yemeni nationals who have been stranded in Sudan. An emergency committee, responsible for overseeing evacuation efforts in Sudan, stated that 179 Yemenis arrived in Aden, Yemen’s interim capital, on Sunday.
These individuals were transported via direct flights from Port Sudan using the national carrier, Yemenia Airways. Four Yemenia planes are scheduled to evacuate a total of 720 Yemenis from Port Sudan to Aden and Sanaa on Sunday and Monday. The evacuation aims to assist approximately 2,000 Yemenis who urgently need to be repatriated from war-torn Sudan.
Yemen’s Information Minister, Muammar Al-Eryani, announced on Twitter that preparations are underway to contract with an additional airline for further evacuation flights, in addition to Yemenia Airlines. He also mentioned that the Yemeni government would cover the costs of these flights.
Since April 15, Sudan has been grappling with conflict between the country’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, leaving thousands of foreigners, including Yemenis, stranded in the country. Many Yemenis who escaped to Port Sudan are currently living in dire conditions without proper shelter, food, money, or medical care.
Previously, Saudi Arabia’s rescue ships transported over 860 Yemenis from Port Sudan to Jeddah, from where they were then bused to Yemen. Yemenia Airways also facilitated the evacuation of 450 Yemenis from Jeddah to Aden.
Afif Al-Barashi, head of the students’ union, emphasized that priority was given to vulnerable individuals such as the sick, children, women, and the elderly during the evacuation process. Al-Barashi described the situation in Port Sudan as tragic and difficult, with people having exhausted their savings.
Yemen’s evacuation efforts
Government officials and diplomats from the Yemeni embassy in Sudan were unavailable for comment on the ongoing evacuation efforts. Meanwhile, in Yemen’s besieged city of Taiz, SABA news agency reported that a child was shot and killed by a Houthi sniper on Saturday evening.
The victim, Ayedha Anwar Saeed, aged 15, died instantly after being shot in the head in the Al-Hunaini village in the Maqbanah district. Houthi snipers have previously targeted and killed numerous children in Taiz since 2015, when the Iran-backed militia initiated a siege on Yemen’s third-largest city.
Additionally, in the central province of Al-Bayda, it was reported that the Houthis released 32 out of at least 40 villagers who were kidnapped for refusing to take part in Houthi summer programs. Earlier, dozens of armed Houthis stormed the village of Al-Khedar, kidnapping the tribesmen and confiscating their weapons and belongings.
The villagers had declined to send their children to the militia camps, viewing them as places of indoctrination and recruitment. At least one Houthi and one local tribesman were killed during the clash that occurred as villagers tried to defend against the raid.
