Bangladeshi expatriates from the war torn Yemen have returned. Two special Biman flights brought 337 of them to Bangladesh from India’s southern state of Kerala.
They were evacuated India on board Indian naval ships. They eventually reached the port of Kochi on a passenger liner.
Foreign affairs state minister Md Shahriar Alam was present at the airport to receive them.
He said they were safe and sound.
A war broke out in Yemen with the rise of Shia Houthis who took over the capital six months ago and ousted its President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The situation worsened with Saudi-led airstrikes.
India had carried out massive evacuation for a month before it was called off last week.
Its naval ships have evacuated around 500 Bangladeshis and some from other nations as well, besides Indian nationals who were stranded in Yemen.
Shahriar Alam told journalists at the airport that the Indian ships had evacuated 508 Bangladeshis from Yemen.
A few of them had returned earlier.
Another 136, who were evacuated towards the end of the Indian rescue operation, will be brought back from Djibouti on Apr 20 according to Alam.
The Indian rescue operations, the biggest its navy and air force mounted recently, was supervised by India’s junior foreign minister General VK Singh (retd), a former army chief.
– Ittefaq Report
