The Indonesian government evacuated another 91 Indonesian citizens from Syria to Indonesia in the latest wave of repatriations on December 20-21, bringing the total number of Indonesians returning from Syria to 156 people.
"With this batch, the total number of Indonesians successfully evacuated after the government transition in Syria amounted to 156 people, in four repatriation batches," the Foreign Affairs Ministry informed on Saturday (December 21).
The ministry stated the majority of Indonesian citizens who were repatriated were migrant workers, students, and university students from several provinces, including Aceh, North Sumatra, DKI Jakarta, East Java, and West Nusa Tenggara.
They were evacuated from Damascus in Syria to Beirut in Lebanon by land and under escort. The ministry said they were then flown back to Indonesia in three flights.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Damascus will continue to track any Indonesians left in Syria who have not reported themselves.
According to the statement, Indonesian citizens staying in Syria are urged to pay attention to developments in the situation and security and to keep their safety.
"They are asked to avoid involvement in unnecessary political activities and to maintain communication with the Indonesian representative in Damascus," the statement said.
The ministry also appealed to the public whose family members are known to still be in Syria to inform the whereabouts of their families through the ministry's Directorate for Protection of Indonesian Citizens (+62812-9007-0027) or the Indonesian Embassy in Damascus (+963-954-444-810).
As of December 16, there were 83 Indonesians in Syria requested to return home. Therefore, the evacuation of Indonesian citizens will continue, as conveyed by the ministry's Director of Protection of Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities, Judha Nugraha.
In the previous batch, the ministry repatriated 65 Indonesians from Syria, consisting of 55 women and 10 men, where 47 of them were migrant workers.
Editor : Vicki Febrianto
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