Wrap-up: Evacuations Intensify As West Asia Conflict Shows No Sign of Easing

By Nur Atiq Maisarah Suhaimi

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- Countries across Asia and beyond have launched urgent evacuation operations to bring their citizens home from conflict zones in West Asia as the conflict entered its 12th day with no signs of easing.

Malaysia launched its first evacuation operation on Wednesday involving 163 Malaysians and seven non-citizen family members, comprising five Thai nationals, one Indonesian and one Moroccan.

The chartered Malaysia Airlines flight MH8503, deployed under the Operation to Evacuate Malaysians from the West Asia Conflict Zone, carried a group comprising umrah pilgrims in Saudi Arabia as well as Malaysians in Qatar, Jordan and Syria, who were affected by flight disruptions and airspace closures in the region.

In Indonesia, the first group of 22 citizens evacuated from Iran arrived safely at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Sugiono said they travelled from Tehran to Baku, Azerbaijan, before returning home, adding that the ministry is coordinating the next phase of evacuation, with 36 Indonesians registered to return so far.

In South Korea, about 6,300 nationals have left West Asian countries over the past week amid the ongoing conflict, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the foreign ministry.

Meanwhile, more than 40,000 Americans have returned to the United States from West Asia since the start of joint US-Israel attacks on Iran, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing the United States Department of State on Tuesday.

Airspace closures and heightened regional tensions have also disrupted commercial aviation, forcing several airlines to cancel or suspend flights across West Asia.

In the United Kingdom, British Airways cancelled flights to several destinations in West Asia on Tuesday, while all flights scheduled this month to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv have also been cancelled, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

In South Korea, Korean Air, the only carrier operating regular flights between Incheon and Dubai, said on Wednesday it would extend the suspension of its Incheon–Dubai flights until March 28 due to the ongoing military conflict in West Asia, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has extended its flight cancellations to and from Dubai until March 28, while Scoot, its low-cost subsidiary, has cancelled additional flights to and from Jeddah until March 17.

In Bahrain, the kingdom has relocated several passenger and cargo aircraft from Bahrain International Airport to other airports as part of measures to enhance operational readiness amid regional tensions, according to Bahrain News Agency.

Beyond evacuation operations, military hostilities across the region continue to intensify.

Two drones fell near Dubai International Airport, injuring four people of different nationalities, Qatar News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Russian Consulate General building in Isfahan, Iran, was damaged during an attack on a nearby provincial administration office on March 8, according to Russian News Agency (TASS).

Air defence systems in northern Iraq intercepted a suicide drone near the United States Consulate General in Erbil, with two additional drones destroyed in the Soran area, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

Amid the escalating conflict, the son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied reports that the country’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had been injured, saying he was “safe and sound”.

This came after media reports suggested Khamenei may have been wounded during the early stages of the conflict following the US–Israel strikes on Iran.

Tensions in West Asia have remained high since Feb 28, when Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran against US interests in Gulf countries.

-- BERNAMA