Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), together with the Ministry of Transport, is preparing a Cabinet of Ministers decision to arrange flights by Latvia’s national airline airBaltic for the repatriation of Latvian citizens from the United Arab Emirates, according to a post by the MFA on social media.
Priority in the evacuation will be given to vulnerable individuals and families with children.
According to information provided by the MFA on Tuesday, 676 Latvian nationals have registered short-term travel to the region in the Consular Register. The largest number – 576 – are currently in the United Arab Emirates, 30 in Israel, 25 in Qatar, 21 in Oman, eight in Kuwait, six in Saudi Arabia, and five each in Bahrain and Jordan.
The airspace over most Middle Eastern countries, with the exception of Oman, remains closed and air-raid alerts are being regularly issued, the MFA noted.
The ministry previously emphasised that
other European Union member states are also actively considering ways to help their citizens leave the region,
prioritising those most in need of assistance, such as people with health problems.
As previously reported, Israel and the United States launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, with missile attacks hitting both the capital Tehran and other cities. Iran has carried out retaliatory strikes against Israel as well as against U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and other Persian Gulf countries.
Since the start of the attacks, 787 people have been killed in Iran as a result of Israeli and U.S. strikes, the Iranian Red Crescent reported on Tuesday.
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