Foreign Ministry: “Algerians Who Are Stranded In Turkey Will Be Evacuated After Quarantine Period”

Foreign Ministry’s central services “closely follow” and “around the clock” the situation of the stranded Algerians in some countries, assuring Algerians in Turkey that they will be returned to the homeland if the quarantine period ends and after ascertaining their identities, Algerian FM said on Thursday.

“Central services closely monitor the situation of the Algerian citizens who are stranded in some countries, in constant coordination with our diplomatic and consular representatives and the authorities of the countries concerned, according to the same methodology in which the Algerian citizens were returned to the homeland after the outbreak of the Coronavirus an application of the supreme orders of the President of the Republic.”

As for the situation of citizens who are stranded in Turkey, the Foreign Ministry confirms that “all measures were taken in coordination and cooperation with the Turkish authorities to ensure that they are awaiting confirmation of the identity of many of those stranded, reassuring them and their families that they will be returned to the homeland as soon as the quarantine period ends, and after making sure of the identity of all the stranded, whose number increases daily in a way that raises suspicion and questioning, especially since many of them do not possess neither travel tickets nor even official travel documents.

“All citizens who are stranded abroad until March 21, are 1811 Algerians, and were all evacuated by allocating six planes for this purpose.”

On Thursday evening, the Turkish authorities transferred the Algerian nationals who were stranded at Istanbul airport for ten whole days, to the city of Akbuk, which is 400 km away from Istanbul.

In the distress calls that were made by the Algerians on social media, they said that the Algerian embassy in Ankara or the consulate in Istanbul, “left them alone,” especially after they were beaten by the Turkish police, as documented videos circulated, and more than that, the airport manager in Istanbul and a Turkish Red Crescent official said that “the Algerian state has abandoned its nationals, and that is why Turkish state will take care of them.”

What further added to the tragedy of the situation of Algerians, which continues, despite their assurance that they will respond to the measures of quarantine if they will return to the homeland, that among them are children and the elderly, and patients who have performed surgeries in Turkey, and testimonies also indicate that there are other Algerians who are still stranded in Malaysia, including university professors.