First Batch of Yemeni Evacuees from Sudan Arrive in Aden

A Saudi soldier distributes flowers to Yemeni evacuees as they disembark the Saudi HMS Abha ship, traveling from Port Sudan, after docking at Jeddah port, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A Saudi soldier distributes flowers to Yemeni evacuees as they disembark the Saudi HMS Abha ship, traveling from Port Sudan, after docking at Jeddah port, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
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First Batch of Yemeni Evacuees from Sudan Arrive in Aden

A Saudi soldier distributes flowers to Yemeni evacuees as they disembark the Saudi HMS Abha ship, traveling from Port Sudan, after docking at Jeddah port, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A Saudi soldier distributes flowers to Yemeni evacuees as they disembark the Saudi HMS Abha ship, traveling from Port Sudan, after docking at Jeddah port, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

The first group of Yemeni evacuees from Sudan arrived in Aden on Monday, having been evacuated by Saudi ships from Port Sudan to Jeddah, before boarding al-Yemenia Airways to their destination.

According to Yemeni sources, 180 people arrived at Aden International Airport, with plans in place to transport hundreds of others still stranded in Sudan.

The commercial director of al-Yemenia, Mohsen Haydara, said the airlines operated two flights from Jeddah to Aden in the first stage of the evacuation process, with the first carrying 180 and the second 270 passengers.

Haydara explained that the evacuation effort follows the directives of the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, who is keen to follow up on the conditions of Yemeni citizens and ensure their safe return.

He lauded the efforts of Saudi Arabia in facilitating the evacuation process of Yemenis and other nationals who were stranded in Sudan due to the ongoing conflict.

The Yemeni Foreign Ministry announced that arrangements were underway to receive nationals from Sudan and bring them to Jeddah as part of the evacuation flights in coordination with Saudi Arabia.

In an official statement, the Ministry said that under the directives of the political leadership, two flights of al-Yemenia would depart from Jeddah to the interim capital, Aden, with the first flight carrying 180 passengers and the second flight 273 passengers.

The statement asserted that evacuations would continue until all citizens safely return home.

The Ministry stated that families and female students were given priority in the ongoing evacuations and coordination with all concerned authorities until the evacuation of all nationals.

A total of 2,423 Yemeni citizens in Sudan have expressed their desire to return home, considering the recent developments and the ongoing clashes.



Iraqi PM Slams Israel’s Complaint over Attacks by Iraqi Iran-Backed Militias

13 January 2023, Berlin: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, prime minister of Iraq, makes remarks at a press conference after his talks with Chancellor Scholz at the Federal Chancellery. (dpa)
13 January 2023, Berlin: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, prime minister of Iraq, makes remarks at a press conference after his talks with Chancellor Scholz at the Federal Chancellery. (dpa)
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Iraqi PM Slams Israel’s Complaint over Attacks by Iraqi Iran-Backed Militias

13 January 2023, Berlin: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, prime minister of Iraq, makes remarks at a press conference after his talks with Chancellor Scholz at the Federal Chancellery. (dpa)
13 January 2023, Berlin: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, prime minister of Iraq, makes remarks at a press conference after his talks with Chancellor Scholz at the Federal Chancellery. (dpa)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has dismissed an Israeli complaint to the UN Security Council about strikes by Iraq's Iran-backed Shiite militias on Israel as a "pretext and argument to attack Iraq" and to "expand the war in the region."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had earlier posted on X a letter to the Security Council saying that "Israel has the inherent right to self-defense ... and to take all necessary measures to protect itself and its citizens against the ongoing acts of hostilities by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq."

An umbrella group of Iraqi militias known as the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" has regularly launched drone strikes on targets in Israel in recent months in support of its Hamas and Hezbollah allies in the ongoing wars in the Middle East.

Saar said some of the militias are part of the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces — a coalition of mostly Shiite armed groups that's technically part of the Iraqi army although it operates in practice largely outside state control — and urged the Iraqi government to "take immediate action to halt and prevent these attacks."

Al-Sudani’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that Iraq has refused to enter into the regional conflict while "seeking to provide relief to the Palestinian and Lebanese people."