Japan Gears Up to Evacuate Citizens from Middle East
(MENAFN) Japan is dispatching two military transport aircraft to East Africa as a precautionary move to evacuate its citizens from the Middle East amid escalating clashes between Iran and Israel, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced Thursday.
The Self-Defense Forces (SDF) will send two C-2 transport planes, staffed by roughly 120 personnel, to an SDF facility in Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa, where they will remain ready for deployment, according to a report from Tokyo-based news agency.
This action follows a directive from Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, with the aircraft expected to depart Japan by Saturday.
Nakatani explained, "The situation in the Middle East has become more strained as Israel and Iran continue tit-for-tat attacks."
He emphasized that the government "is still at the preparatory stage for a possible transportation" of Japanese nationals.
Authorities are currently verifying the number of Japanese citizens wanting to evacuate—approximately 280 in Iran and around 1,000 in Israel.
In addition to airlift preparations, Japan plans to evacuate roughly 90 nationals and their families from Tehran to Azerbaijan via bus. For those residing in Israel, bus evacuation to Jordan is being offered as an option.
The regional crisis intensified last Friday when Israel carried out airstrikes on multiple Iranian targets, including military and nuclear sites, triggering retaliatory missile attacks by Tehran.
According to Israeli officials, Iranian missile strikes have resulted in at least 24 fatalities and hundreds of injuries. Iranian media report that Israeli air raids have killed 585 people and wounded over 1,300 in Iran.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
