Continuing its assistance of evacuating Third Country Nationals (TCN) from Yemen, IOM has assisted 86 Ethiopians to return from Yemen on Thursday this week. The total number of arrivals of Ethiopian nationals since last week is 171. The returnees on Thursday were transited in Khartoum for two days before coming to Addis Ababa. Upon arrival in Addis Ababa, they expressed their gratitude for IOM’s assistance in helping them return to their country.  

27 year-old Fozia has this to say, “The IOM assistance in Yemen and Sudan had been overwhelming. We would not have made it back here if it was not for IOM, so we are very much thankful for that,” she said. Having stayed in Yemen for six years, Fozia had to leave it all behind and return to Ethiopia as the situation has deteriorated. “Things are very scary now, there are fighter jets throwing bombs and gun shots heard every now and then.” She said.  

Upon arrival, the returnees were welcomed by Ethiopian Middle East Affairs Directorate General Ambassador Siraj Rashid, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IOM staff in Addis Ababa.

For returnees like Kedija, who have stayed in Yemen for 10 years, leaving Yemen was a very hard thing to do. “The situation is getting more scarier by the day. Now there is even no power. My husband said, he wanted to remain behind and see if the situation improves. I guess, leaving the house behind has been very hard.” She said, however, if things do not improve soon, her husband will also follow her. Kedija and her daughter Amira were on the fourth evacuation flight to Addis Ababa after IOM started the operation last week Sunday.

As more TCNs are waiting to be evacuated, IOM’s operation will continue in the coming days as well. It is expected that more than 500 TNCs will be flown to Addis Ababa via a chartered plane.

It is to be recalled that on Sunday 12th April, IOM organized its first charter flight to evacuate 141 third country nationals (TCNs) from Sana’a, Yemen since the war broke out. The operation was a success as it paved the way for continuing evacuations of more than 16,000 TCNs who are stranded in Yemen. IOM has received requests from 38 countries to evacuate their nationals out of Yemen. Both government of Sudan and Ethiopia have allowed IOM to use Khartoum and Addis Ababa as Air Bridge to evacuate Third Country Nationals.

In addition to the returnees from Yemen, IOM also assisted 131 Ethiopians by road transport from Djibouti. The organization provided accommodation at its transit center during their stay in Djibouti and in Addis Ababa. The 131 individuals were stranded in Djibouti while irregularly heading to Yemen. The returnees were staying at IOM temporary shelter in Djibouti after they were abandoned for weeks by smugglers who promised to take them to Yemen. 

Note: Names of the returnees have been changed to protect their privacy.