Israel has announced that it has evacuated 200 of its citizens from Gondar and Bahir Dar cities in Ethiopia.
In a joint statement issued by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office, 174 Israelis and Israeli nationals who are eligible to enter the country have been evacuated from Gondar due to the conflict in the region.
About 30 other citizens were also reported to have evacuated from the Amhara region capital, Bahirdar.
The citizens who were evacuated from the Amhara region in four flights have reached Addis Ababa and headed to Israel from Addis Ababa.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Kon mentioned that the Israelis will stay in Addis Ababa until they decide to return to their country.
Local media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will protect its citizens wherever they are.
The Prime Minister thanked the parties involved in the mission which was “short, effortless and effective”.
Following the federal government’s decision to disband and reorganize the regional Special Forces last April, the security problem in the Amhara region is getting worse.
The government announced that it has freed six cities of the Amhara region from the threat of militants and declared a six months state of emergency.
