Three Sri Lankans have safely arrived at Djibouti from Yemen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a short while ago.

Sri Lankan government earlier announced that it has taken steps to evacuate its citizens in Yemen after a Saudi-led alliance launched air strikes in the country against its Houthi rebels. Yemen has been in political turmoil ever since an uprising began against its former president Abdullah Saleh.

Sri Lankan MFA recently said that there were 75-100 Sri Lankan citizens in Yemen, including students. India and China offered help to evacuate the stranded Sri Lankans. Many other countries have also announced that they will take steps to evacuate their citizens from Yemen.

Djibouti has attracted international limelight since it is located across Yemen in the African continent. Since Somalia is in political turmoil, Djibouti is considered to be one of the best locations to evacuate foreigners from Yemen. It is also the closest African country to Yemen. The two countries are separated by the Bab-el Mandeb Strait.

India announced on Wednesday (1) that it had evacuated 350 of its nationals to Djibouti on board a ship, INS Sumitra.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have strengthened their positions on two islands in the strait of Bab el-Mandeb, deploying weapons that may put commercial and military vessels at risk, Djibouti’s foreign minister said, according to a recent report by Bloomberg.