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Four Indians evacuated from Syria arrived at Delhi airport. Indian nationals have expressed happiness on reaching India and praised Indian embassy for their efforts in bringing them back home. This action of the embassy comes as part of India's ongoing efforts to protect its citizens caught in the violence in Syria.
Speaking to reporters after reaching Delhi airport, the Indian national said, "I went there 15-20 days ago. We did not know this would happen. The Indian Embassy evacuated us. First we they took us to Lebanon and then Goa and today we have reached Delhi. We are happy that we have reached our country. The Indian Embassy helped us a lot. They brought us in a bus from Syria to Lebanon as flights are not operating in Syria. Then, they brought us to Goa in a flight and then they brought us to Delhi."
Another Indian national said that the embassy told them to reach Damascus and then they were taken to Beirut safe zone. He stressed that the situation there was very critical and that every day they had heard the sounds of rockets and bullets.
The Indian national said, "We were doing job in Syria for the past four months. One day, while working at the plant, we saw two-three rockets. We informed the embassy and they told us to come to Damascus. We stayed there for 1-2 days, then we were taken to Beirut safe zone. There was some issue with the ticket there for two days. After two days, our ticket was booked from Beirut to Doha. Then, our ticket was booked from Doha to Qatar and Doha to New Delhi. The situation there is very critical. Every day we heard the sounds of rockets and bullets. The embassy helped us a lot and provided all the facilities including food, good accommodation. They even booked tickets for us. I want to thank the embassy and Indian government."
The Indian national further said, "We want to thank PM Modi and the Indian Embassy."
Another Indian national thanked the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their support. "I want to thank the Indian embassy, the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their support. The condition there is very bad. We got scared there as we heard the sounds of rockets and bullets for the first time. I am very happy to be back in India," he said.
Expressing gratitude to PM Modi for bringing them back home, another Indian national said, "We received a call from the embassy. They told us to leave Syria. We also heard the sound of bomb blasts. The situation there was very serious. The embassy called us and shifted us to Beirut, and then after two or three days, we were brought to New Delhi. We are grateful to PM Modi."
Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that 77 Indian nationals had been evacuated from strife-torn Syria so far. The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal said that the Indian embassies in Middle East region are in touch with Indians there and will help them if the need arises. The spokesperson also said that there is no need for evacuation from any other country.
"So far, 77 Indians have been evacuated, these are those who wanted to return. In addition to that, several other Indians have settled there, married there or are pursuing some vocation and still continue to live there. If they want to return, we will facilitate their return. These 77 were evacuated via Lebanon, and our embassies in Lebanon and Syria coordinated very closely. We brought them by road, after which the Indian embassy in Lebanon facilitated their immigration. The immigration at the border was long and there was a lot of people, so it was quite an exercise. Then we took care of their boarding and lodging, made arrangements for the stay. Out of the 77, 44 were on a pilgrimage to various sites in the region. They have left Beirut for other places and the remaining 30 have either returned or are travelling as we speak, and will be returning to India soon," he said.
Mr Jaiswal added that the MEA has issued several advisories to people in different Middle Eastern countries like Lebanon and Israel and are in touch with them. However, they do not need to be evacuated as of now.
"We are in touch with others in Damascus and if they require, the Indian embassy will give them a helping hand. We have 3,000 people in Lebanon, about 1,000 people in UNDOF and UNIFIL. We have issued several advisories to stay in touch with our embassies. If tomorrow there is any need for evacuation, we will do that. But, as of now, nothing of that sort is in pipeline. In Israel, we have 32,000 Indian nationals who are working there and the Indian embassy is in touch with them for their welfare. So far there are no evacuation plans from any other country," he said.
Syria's newly appointed Prime Minister, Mohammed al-Bashir, has focused on repatriating Syrian refugees living abroad as one of his key goals.
Al-Bashir aims to "bring back the millions of Syrian refugees who are abroad" as part of efforts to restore stability in the country. The Syrian government continues to face challenges, including unrest surrounding the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, which was recently set on fire.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News Agency staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)