EVACUATION OF MALAYSIANS FROM WEST ASIA WILL CONTINUE IF NEEDED – PM ANWAR

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government will continue evacuation operations to bring Malaysians home from West Asia amid escalating conflicts in the region, should the situation require it.

He said the operation, coordinated by the National Security Council (MKN), the Foreign Ministry, and Malaysia’s diplomatic missions in West Asia, has successfully brought home the first group of Malaysians, who arrived in the country at midday today.

“Alhamdulillah, the first group of Malaysians evacuated from West Asia has arrived today at around 12:30 pm.

“The evacuation operation will continue, but we will closely monitor the situation, as most of them are now able to return safely on regular commercial flights,” he said.

He made the remarks at a special press conference on the latest developments of the conflict in West Asia on Wednesday.

A total of 163 Malaysians who were previously stranded in several countries in the West Asia region arrived safely in Malaysia at 12.32 pm today on a special chartered Malaysia Airlines flight.

The Foreign Ministry said the group included Umrah pilgrims from Saudi Arabia as well as Malaysians from Qatar, Jordan, and Syria, who were affected by flight disruptions and airspace closures in the region.

The flight for the Malaysian Evacuation Operation from the West Asia Conflict Zone, which departed from Jeddah early this morning, also carried seven non-citizen family members, including five Thais, one Indonesian, and one Moroccan.

-- BERNAMA