Russian plane sent to evacuate Russian nationals from Yemen is in Cairo

CAIRO, April 2 /TASS/. A Russian plane that was sent to evacuate Russian nationals from Yemen but was turned away by the Saudi-led Arab coalition is currently at Cairo airport," the Russian embassy in Egypt said. "A Russian plane which is waiting for an opportunity to continue the evacuation of Russian nationals from Yemen is staying at Cairo airport. Everything will depend on adjacent countries, including Saudi Arabia," the Russian diplomats said without giving any other information. A Saudi-led coalition of Arab states which is carrying out a military operation against Houthi fighters in Yemen has turned away a Russian plane that wanted to evacuate Russian nationals from the conflict-stricken country, the Al Mayadeen TV channel said on its website on Wednesday. "The Saudi-led coalition has banned a Russian plane from evacuating Russian nationals from Yemen despite a preliminary reached agreement," Al Mayadeen said without giving any further comments or explanations. Last week, the Saudi Air Force supported by Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates bombed the positions of Shia rebels / supporters of the Ansar Alllah group/ in the territory of Yemen. Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan and Sudan also joined the Saudi-led military operation with an aim to return Yemen’s President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and his government to power. Since August 2014, Yemen has been hit by a severe political and security crisis. In late January, the armed groups of Ansar Allah (Houthi rebels) forced the president and the government to step down. The rebels later took control of the country’s capital and several northern provinces. They also announced the adoption of the so-called constitutional declaration. Overnight to March 26, Saudi Arabia launched a military operation in the neighboring country and delivered air strikes at several Houthi positions. Pro-government forces regained control of the Aden airport last week, while Yemeni President Abd Rabbah Mansur Hadi fled the country to Saudi Arabia. The United Nations evacuated all international staff from Yemen on March 31. Germany, the United States, Turkey and Japan had also suspended their embassies’ operation in Yemen. Meanwhile, a Russian embassy source told TASS on March 26 that Russia was not planning to evacuate its diplomats from Yemen so far. Read more