Uzbekistan Evacuates Over 19,300 Citizens from Middle East

Uzbekistan has successfully repatriated more than 19,300 of its citizens from several Middle Eastern countries, according to the latest official figures.

As of 7:00 AM on March 8, a total of 19,347 people have been returned to their homeland. The operation involved multiple flights from key regional hubs.

On March 7 alone, nine flights from Saudi Arabia brought back 1,680 citizens. Two additional flights from the United Arab Emirates repatriated another 394 individuals. A further five citizens were returned from Iran.

In a coordinated effort, Uzbekistan's embassies in Qatar and Saudi Arabia worked with the Ministry of Transport to evacuate a first group of 208 citizens from Doha. This group departed from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on a Centrum Air flight and arrived safely in Tashkent at 5:40 AM on March 8.

The diplomatic mission in Qatar has already assembled a second group of 126 people for evacuation. They are scheduled to be transported by bus from Doha to Riyadh under embassy escort before being flown to Tashkent on a charter flight later today.

The government has stated that the repatriation efforts are ongoing and are being carried out in a systematic and phased manner.