About 8,000 Polish citizens leave Middle East, FM says
Around 8,000 Polish nationals have left the Middle East following the outbreak of conflict in the region, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski reported on Monday morning.
"I have precise data, right down to every single person from this morning. The number amounts to roughly 8,000 people, who left - both on commercial flights and as part of the evacuation operations through Oman and Saudi Arabia," Sikorski told private radio broadcaster TOK FM.
"Additional flights will take place today and then on Wednesday, possibly under EU procedures. Initially our citizens were, of course, the priority, but the EU mechanism encourages us to take other European citizens on board as well,” Sikorski added.
Further information was later provided by the foreign ministry spokesman, Maciej Wewior, who wrote on X that 8,064 people had returned to Poland on 44 flights as of 9am on Monday.
The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces (DORSZ) reported that shortly after 6am on Monday two military aircraft departed from Poland to evacuate Polish citizens from the Middle East. The planes were headed to Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Later that day, Sikorski said that despite the foreign ministry's warnings, people continue to travel to high-risk areas. He also reported, citing Polish Border Guard's data, that since March 1, after the war in the Middle East already started, 736 Polish nationals, including 15 children, have travelled to the region: 97 to Qatar, 271 to Oman, and 368 to the UAE.
"I hope they won't demand evacuation at the taxpayer expense," he said.
Earlier on Sunday, Sikorski said the largest group of stranded Poles was in the United Arab Emirates. However, he added, commercial flights were gradually being restored and the UAE's airport capacity had reached around 80,000 passengers per day. As a result, about 1,000 Polish citizens were returning to the country daily on commercial flights.
The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other senior officials. Tehran retaliated by launching attacks on US-allied states and Israel, striking US military but also civilian infrastructure, forcing numerous airlines to suspend operations or divert planes through longer alternative routes.(PAP)
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