Evacuation of Malaysians in Yemen starts

By SHAHANAAZ HABIB

First batch to arrive Thursday night

SANA'A, Mar 17, 2011- Malaysia has started to evacuate its students studying in Yemen, which is currently facing violent pro and anti-government protests.

The first batch of 10 students, including four pregnant women, left on a Qatar Airlines flight at 4.25am local time, (9.25am Malaysian time) Thursday.

They were expected to reach Kuala Lumpur at 9pm Malaysian time.

Another 23 will be also be evacuated later Thursday on two Emirates Airlines flights.

The rest will be evacuated over the next few days.

There are 849 Malaysians in Yemen, most of whom are students.

Inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Yemenis too have risen up to try and oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for the last 32 years.

Over the last few days, the protests have turned violent and there have been clashes between pro and anti-government protestors, resulting in injuries and deaths in the capital and a few other towns.

Source: The Star Online