Hundreds of people from 15 countries are carried away from combat zone to safety
China has joined the elite humanitarian club of countries that are able to bring non-nationals to safety from danger zones Kevin White Womens Jersey , after evacuating hundreds of Chinese citizens and foreigners from war-torn Yemen.
The People's Liberation Army navy won global plaudits by conducting four major evacuations from two ports against a backdrop of gunfire and explosions.
Any single evacuation operation requires a considerable amount of planning and coordination. However, the obstacles faced when taking 279 foreigners from 15 countries to safety increase dramatically, not least because of the language difficulties.
To do it just days after you have evacuated your own nationals makes it all the more remarkable, observers said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said in a statement on its website on Thursday that 10 foreign governments - Pakistan, Ethiopia, Singapore, Italy, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Britain, Canada and Yemen - had requested China's help.
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said it was the first time China had carried out a specific evacuation of foreign nationals from a danger zone.
The first mission took place in the southern port city of Aden on March 29 when 122 Chinese people were evacuated. Another mission involving 449 Chinese people was carried out from the Red Sea port of Hodeidah on March 30, and a third mission, evacuating 225 foreigners from 10 countries from Aden, took place on Thursday.
On Monday, the frigate Linyi embarked on the fourth mission. The ministry said it carried the last group of 24 Chinese nationals who wished to be evacuated from the country from Hodeidah to Djibouti. At the request of the Sri Lankan government, the vessel also carried 45 Sri Lankans.
Hua said the Chinese embassy and consulate general in Yemen "are temporarily closed" in light of the worsening security situation, and all the remaining diplomatic staff in the country boarded the Linyi.
Yemen has been devastated by a brutal civil war, and the situation became even more critical on March 26 when Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes on the Houthi rebels with the participation of other Gulf states. Getting non-Yemenis out of Aden, near the entrance to the Red Sea, became a matter of extreme urgency.
Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told China Daily that the situation in Yemen was "particularly tragic as it affects everyone there".
The country has a large displaced population from Africa, in particular Somalia, because of its strategic position, Edwards said.
Mudassir Waseem, a 13-year-old Pakistani, told Xinhua News Agency on board the Linyi, the vessel that evacuated the foreign nationals, that he could not restrain his delight at the thought of returning home.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Chinese reporters in Islamabad, "We are really, really grateful to our Chinese brothers."
Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday expressed its gratitude to China for providing assistance in evacuating four Polish residents from Aden.
Protecting vessels
Abeer Etefa, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said that "it is very difficult to provide assistance when the safety of your own staff is at stake".
Etefa told China Daily that "it is a very difficult situation in Sanaa (the Yemeni capital) right now, also in Aden, as well as many parts of the country". She described Yemen as "one of the most insecure countries in the world, not least in terms of food supplies".
The evacuation fleet - the Linyi and another frigate, the Weifang, and the Weishanhu, a supply ship - was stationed near Yemeni waters before the airstrikes began.
The ships had been carrying out escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to protect Chinese and foreign vessels from pirate attacks.
The PLA navy ordered the ships to prepare for an evacuation mission, and on the night of March 26 it directed them toward the ports of Hodeidah and Aden, navy spokesman Liang Yang said on March 30.
Liang said the mission to evacuate Chinese citizens followed "the orders of President Xi Jinping and the Central Military Commission".
The Foreign Ministry "activated an emergency response mechanism" on March 26, Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed on March 28 on the sidelines of the Boao Asian Forum in Hainan province. "We actually have already started operations and those evacuated will be back home soon," he told reporters.
Zhu Jianping, an employee of CNBM International Engineering, arrived in Yemen two months before the evacuation, and heard "the sounds of gunshots and mortars every day".
"I was frightened, but I was reassured after the embassy informed me that the navy ship was coming," he told China National Radio when he arrived in Beijing on Wednesday.
At noon on March 29, the Linyi picked up 124 people - 122 Chinese and two foreign experts hired by Chinese enterprises - from Aden and arrived in Djibouti eight hours later.
The Weifang and the Weishanhu evacuated 449 Chinese nationals and six foreign employees of Chinese enterprises from Hodeidah before sailing to Djibouti.
Tian Qi, the Chinese ambassador to Yemen, said gathering the Chinese citizens together was "demanding" because they were dispersed in dozens of areas around the country.
The diplomat said security was a major concern for those who made the 230-kilometer trip from Sanaa to Hodeidah, as the mountainous road has seen serious outbreaks of violence.
Sound of gunfire
The evacuation was conducted under fire in some places, in particular near key infrastructure projects that were being fought over by the rebels and the government forces.
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