Maldivian student evacuated from war-torn Yemen

A Maldivian student has been evacuated from Yemen’s capital along with hundreds of Indian nationals fleeing air strikes in an escalating sectarian conflict.

The student was flown from Sana’a to Djibouti yesterday and is now in India’s Mumbai, his family has confirmed. He is to arrive in Maldives tomorrow morning.

The student had gone to Sana’a in December last year to study the Qur’an.

The Foreign Ministry last week said families of two more students had asked to be evacuated.

But deputy minister for foreign affairs Fathimath Inaya told Minivan News the government the other two students, who are safe, had chosen not to leave the country yet.

According to Yemeni media, at least 500 foreign nationals have been evacuated from Sana’a since Thursday. The UN and diplomatic missions pulled their staff out last week.

A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Yemen for nearly two weeks in an attempt off an insurgency led by Shia Houthi rebels.

The rebels took control of Sana’a earlier this year, forcing Yemeni President Abdabbauh Mansour Hadi to flee the country in February.