New Delhi, Apr 7 (Agencies): Even as the Indian Navy successfully braved bombs to evacuate more than 2300 citizens from Yemen, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Monday said that a further 23 countries have sought India's help to evacuate their citizens from the war-torn country.
While Swaraj did not name any of the countries who had approached India, she tweeted saying, "Twenty three countries have requested India to evacuate their citizens from Yemen." India on Sunday evacuated 806 of its nationals and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday that "Almost all Indians would be evacuated from strife-torn Yemen by this evening."
The requests for help in evacuation by other nations come even as Swaraj tweeted that in a humanitarian gesture Indian Navy evacuated three Pakistani nationals from Al Hodeida by INS Sumitra.
Meanwhile, 11 Indians along with 172 others, were evacuated by a Pakistani ship from Yemen's southeastern city of Mokallah on Sunday, which is now almost entirely under control of al-Qaeda militants.
The PNS Aslat set off for Pakistan on Saturday after successfully evacuating 183 people, including 35 foreigners, from Mokallah, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
Narendra Modi has also tweeted extensively about the operation.
India evacuated its citizens from Yemen on a war-footing, and have been extremely forthcoming about the ongoing operations. So much so in fact, that Sushma Swaraj even responded to a woman from Yemen, married to an Indian, who wanted to ensure that she and her eight-month-old son could reach India safely.
The woman had tweeted on 4 April saying, "This is my little son and source of love. Wish him to reach India safe", to which Swaraj replied with a message welcoming her son to India, and saying "It is our duty towards our country and countrymen. God bless your child - our young citizen".
According to The Indian Express, "Over the next few days, the Indian embassy in Sanaa verified her details and was preparing to evacuate them on Sunday."
Official sources had said on Sunday that the evacuation operation was going on notwithstanding the deteriorating situation across Yemen.
A no-fly zone enforced in Yemeni airspace by international coalition has made it difficult to evacuate Indians by air, they had said, adding India has been requesting Saudi Arabia to allow aerial sorties to Saana on daily basis.
The sources said the number of Indians across Yemen was around 5,000 out of which 1,000 were women married to Yemeni nationals. The number of Indians in Saana would be around 3,000 while around 554 were in Aden and 298 were in offshore oil fields.
Swaraj had said that respective state governments were providing help to those who had returned from Yemen.
"Kerala Government is giving Rs.2000/- to each passenger arriving in Kochi. Maharashtra Government is giving Rs.3,000/- to each passenger arriving in Mumbai. Indian Railways are providing all hospitality and confirmed tickets free of charge for onward journey to their homes," Swaraj had said on Sunday.
She had said that Air India had deployed three A320 for evacuation from Sanaa to Djibouti and one A777 for flying Indians from Djibouti to Kochi and Mumbai.
"Indian Air Force has deployed two C 17 Air crafts to fly passengers from Djibouti to India," she had said and added, "Ministry of Home has given two passenger ships Kavaratti and Corals to carry 1100 passengers."