Algeria hastened to evacuate its Embassy staff from strife-torn Yemen

Algeria evacuated 160 of its citizens including its entire embassy staff from strife-torn Yemen as a Saudi–led military coalition continued a bombing campaign against rebel targets in the Arabian Peninsula.

President Abdellaziz Bouteflika  ordered the evacuation operation after closely monitoring the deteriorating security situation in Yemen in recent days, foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra said.

Algeria has refused to provide manpower from its powerful armed forces for the coalition carrying out air strikes against Houthi insurgents.

Reports said that 40 Tunisians, 15 Mauritians, eight Libyans, three Moroccans and a Palestinian were also flown out of the capital, Sanaa, to Cairo on a plane provided by Algerian national carrier Air Algerie.

Algeria managed to evacuate its nationals in spite of difficult security and weather conditions, foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra explained.

Replying to a question regarding similar operations, he said: “All the Algerians living in Yemen and having expressed the will to return home have been repatriated. Algeria remains mobilized to protect its citizens wherever they are.”

Lamamra and Minister of National Solidarity, Family and Women’s Condition Mounia Meslem greeted those Algerian nationals who arrived at Algiers International Airport coming from Yemen.

Political analysts dubbed Algeria’s speedy evacuation operation from war-torn Yemen as a salutary move given the growing insecurity prevailing in the country, stressing that the Algerian authorities wanted to ward off a recurrence of abduction drama in 2012 which beset the Algerian diplomatic staff in the city of Gao in northern Mali and earlier in Iraq in 2005 and also in Libya last year.

Such an abduction operation targeting several Algerian staff members of the Algerian General Consulate in the city of Gao was carried out by the so-called “Mujao” armed extremist group active in northern Mali.

Aden, Yemen’s main southern city and a last foothold of supporters of absent President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has been jolted by more than a week of fierce clashes between Houthi rebels and loyalist militia.

Furthermore, China, Djibouti, Egypt and Sudan, along with two aid groups, were scheduled to carry out evacuations from Sunday while requests from others including Canada, Germany and Iraq were being processed.