Balkan States Evacuate Citizens from Israel Amid Escalating Conflict
Source: Balkan Insight
In North Macedonia, a first group of citizens evacuated from Israel arrived at Skopje airport late Tuesday night on a government jet. Photo: North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski/Facebook.
Hundreds of citizens of Balkan states have been urgently repatriated by their governments as fears grow of a further escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, with Israel and Iran continuing to bomb each other’s cities.
Eighty-nine Bulgarians evacuated from Tel Aviv arrived in the capital Sofia on a plane that landed at 02.30am on Wednesday morning. The passengers from Israel, who also included citizens of the US, Slovenia, Belgium, Kosovo and Romania, were first taken to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, from where their plane departed.
On Monday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov said that there are six Bulgarian citizens in Tehran, all of them working in the Bulgarian embassy.
“They are currently not looking into options to leave Iran but we’ll assist if there’s a window of opportunity and a desire to do so on their side,” said Zhelyazkov.
According to Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, around 385 Romanian nationals have requested repatriation assistance from Israel and Iran, including tourists, resident families, Romanian citizens with dual nationality, and groups of pilgrims.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Andrei Tarnea said that some groups have already managed to exit the region through Egypt or Jordan. “These operations are sensitive and are being carried out discreetly to avoid jeopardising the safety of those involved,” Tarnea added.
The Romanian Embassy in Tehran has identified 40 individuals in need of repatriation, with some already having left on their own. A number of them are among the hundreds who have managed to flee Iran for neighbouring countries such as Azerbaijan or Armenia.
Greece on Wednesday morning repatriated 105 of the country’s citizens and their family members who had been stranded in Tel Aviv for the past few days.
“We were constantly in shelters. I haven’t slept at all these past few days,” one woman told Kathimerini after arriving in Athens.
In North Macedonia, a first group of citizens evacuated from Israel arrived at Skopje airport late last night on a government jet, the Foreign Ministry said.
“With this, we became one of the first countries in Europe to successfully organise and implement the return of our citizens from the conflict zone,” said North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski.
The ministry said a total of 28 people wish to be evacuated and a second flight will be arranged from Israel, but did not specify when it will happen.
In Serbia, the government said in a press release that it is “taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety” of citizens of Serbia who are in Israel and Iran.
Prime Minister Djuro Macut said that some citizens of Serbia in Israel, have been successfully evacuated. Evacuation from Iran was not mentioned.
Meanwhile, Albania said that five of its citizens have been evacuated from Israel and more could follow, while Montenegro’s Foreign Ministry said it is monitoring the situation and “advises citizens to avoid all trips” to Israel and Iran until further notice, “due to the worsening security situation and increased risk to personal safety”.
Turkey, which has a land border with Iran, has released no information yet about any plans for the evacuation of its citizens.
The original article: belongs to Balkan Insight .
