India evacuates 272 Bangladesh nationals from Yemen

India has evacuated 272 Bangladeshis from strife-torn Yemen as it has called off rescue operations for its nationals.

The Indian High Commission in Dhaka has tweeted that the ship INS Sumitra has rescued those Bangladeshis from Al Hudaydah.

However, Bangladesh government did not give any figure, though of late it has sent its diplomats from Kuwait to Djibouti after getting India’s assurance for help.

The rescue operation has been coordinated from Djibouti, just on the other side of Gulf of Aden.

India’s junior external affairs minister VK Singh has coordinated the whole process from Djibouti.

India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has tweeted that “the evacuation operation is over. General V.K.Singh is returning tonight. We are closing our Embassy there”.

However, it is not clear whether any Bangladeshis remained stranded in Yemen.

The foreign ministry on Friday told bdnews24.com that they would issue a statement later in the evening.

Bangladesh does not have diplomatic mission in Yemen, but the foreign secretary said they estimated there might be between 1500 and 3000 nationals living in Yemen.

Later, the government estimated around 350 Bangladeshis are stuck in the capital Sana’a, currently controlled by Houthi rebels, who have ousted Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The conflict in Yemen has turned the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state into the latest theatre for Sunni Saudi Arabia’s proxy war with its regional Shia rival Iran.

Bangladesh earlier endorsed its support to Saudi-led effort in Yemen.

Tehran, however, denies Riyadh's charges that it has been arming the Houthis.

Houthis have emerged as the country's most powerful faction when they took over the capital six months ago together with supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.