Social media users have circulated posts claiming that many Arab countries did not evacuate their citizens from Ukraine since Russia’s ongoing military action started. Users also alleged that many countries did not cover the evacuation costs, except for Tunisia, which evacuated its nationals despite the social and economic crisis that the country is facing.
According to the claim, Tunisian authorities managed to evacuate 433 nationals for free on three flights, two of which have used a military plane. Tunisian Airlines provided the third flight. According to the users, Tunisia was among the first countries to evacuate its citizens.
Many Arab countries were mentioned in the circulated posts, including Egypt, which advised its citizens to leave Ukraine for other neighboring countries after receiving their 15-day residency certificate. They would also pay for their own return to Egypt. The claim also stated that Morocco had scheduled three flights to evacuate Moroccans in Ukraine for $75 and that other countries had taken no action.
Several Arab countries, including Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Algeria, took strategic measures and organized special flights to evacuate their citizens from Ukraine. Libya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced on March 3, 2022, that it had received the first flight carrying nearly 165 passengers evacuated from Ukraine via Slovak territory to Tripoli.
Royal Air Maroc, Morocco's national carrier, had scheduled three special flights to evacuate Moroccan nationals stranded in Ukraine for a fixed price of 750 Moroccan dirhams, all fees included. Flights from Warsaw, Bucharest, and Budapest to Casablanca were scheduled for March 3 and 4.
Algeria had also scheduled flights to evacuate Algerians stranded in Ukraine, with the first flight arriving in Algeria on the third of the current month. According to the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first flight from Romania carried 76 passengers who had crossed the Ukrainian-Romanian borders.
In Egypt, 181 nationals were evacuated, including 175 Egyptian students in Ukraine who successfully crossed the Ukrainian border into Romania. The flight also included six members of the Red Crescent team.
Nabila Makram, Egypt's Minister of Immigration, stated that Egyptian embassies in Romania and other neighboring countries attempted to facilitate hotel and ticket reservations. She also mentioned that embassies could provide Egyptians who crossed the border with temporary residence until they could book flights to Egypt at their own expense.
Several other countries have taken charge of the evacuation of their citizens from Ukraine. The Mauritanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation has confirmed the organization of an evacuation trip for their students stranded in Ukraine on March 26, 2022. Meanwhile, the Saudi embassy in Kyiv advised its citizens to communicate with the embassy's services in order to facilitate their departure from Ukraine.
Misbar’s Sources:
Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
وزارة الخارجية والتعاون الدولي في ليبيا
وزارة
