Uzbekistan Repatriates Over 19,300 Citizens Amid Middle East Tensions

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — As of 07:00 on 8 March, a total of 19,347 citizens of Uzbekistan have been returned to the country amid rising tensions in the Middle East, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan.

On 7 March, nine flights from Saudi Arabia brought 1,680 Uzbek citizens back home, while two flights from the United Arab Emirates returned 394 people. In addition, five citizens were repatriated from Iran.

On the same day, Uzbekistan’s embassies in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, together with the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan, evacuated the first group of Uzbek citizens from Doha, consisting of 208 people.

They departed from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on a flight operated by Centrum Air and safely arrived in Tashkent at 05:40 on 8 March.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic mission in Qatar has formed a second group of 126 citizens for the next stage of evacuation. They are expected to be transported from Doha to Riyadh by three buses rented by the embassy, accompanied by diplomats. Their evacuation to Tashkent is scheduled for 8 March via a charter flight from Riyadh.

Efforts to return Uzbek citizens to their homeland are continuing systematically and in stages, the ministry said.