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Crisis in Yemen

First Russian aircraft brings over 160 people from Yemen to Russia

The number included 120 Russians, 15 Belarusians, 10 Poles, eight Ukrainians, three Kyrgyzes, three Uzbeks, two Yemenis and one Tajik

MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. The first Russian aircraft with nationals of Russia and other countries evacuated from Yemen has landed at the Chkalovsky airfield in the Moscow Region.

The plane landed at 02:25 a.m. Friday Moscow Time [23:25 Thursday UTC]. It carried more than 160 people forced to leave Yemen due to hostilities there. The number included 120 Russians, 15 Belarusians, 10 Poles, eight Ukrainians, three Kyrgyzes, three Uzbeks, two Yemenis and one Tajik. Among them were 15 children aged under two and 64 teenagers.

The second Russian aircraft will land at Chkalovsky in a few hours, it is expected to bring more than 130 people, including 43 Russians, 44 Uzbeks, 15 Yemenis, eight Tajiks, five Belarusians, five Azerbaijanis, three Poles, three Kyrgyzes, two Ukrainians, one Canadian, one Serb, one Lithuanian and one Moldovan. Among them are seven children aged under two and 18 teenagers.

On March 31, UN evacuated its personnel from Yemen for security concerns. Russia started evacuating its nationals from the country as well. Several countries, including Germany, the United States, Turkey and Japan, suspended operation at their respective embassies in Yemen.

The situation in Yemen started to rapidly deteriorate at the beginning of last week. Shiite rebels gained control over large part of the country. Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi fled the country.

A coalition of Persian Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia launched a military operation in Yemen and started delivering airstrikes at rebel positions in the country. The coalition is currently considering launching a ground operation in Yemen to oust Houthis.

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Crisis in Yemen

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