Colombo, April 3 (IANS): The Sri Lankan government on Friday said eight of its nationals had safely left Yemen as fighting intensified in that country.
Out of the eight, three had reached Djibouti in the early hours of Friday while the remaining five were on their way home via sea, Xinhua news agency cited an official from the foreign ministry in Colombo as saying.
The government said this week that it was making arrangements to evacuate at least 100 of its citizens stranded in Yemen as fighting escalated between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi military forces.
The ministry of foreign affairs, in coordination with the Sri Lankan embassy in Muscat, Oman, which is concurrently accredited to Yemen, is exploring all possible avenues to ensure the safe return of the Sri Lankans.
The government has already requested India, China and the UN to help evacuate the Sri Lankan citizens trapped in Yemen.