Jordanians in Yemen safe, accounted for — Foreign Ministry

AMMAN — All Jordanian students in turmoil-hit Yemen are safe and no one has been kidnapped, the Foreign Ministry affirmed on Thursday.

A Jordanian student who was in a high-risk region in Yemen called the Kingdom’s embassy in Sanaa, which brought him to the capital in coordination with Yemeni authorities, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ashraf Khasawneh said.

“The student is safe and is staying at the Jordanian embassy in Sanaa,” Khasawneh told The Jordan Times.

The official did not give the exact number of Jordanian students in Yemen, but said that the ministry is in “constant contact” with most of the Jordanians studying in the crisis-hit country.

“We are in full contact with those who provided their mobile numbers to the ministry. All in all, there are only nine Jordanian students in regions witnessing turmoil,” he noted.

Khasawneh said the ministry is working, in cooperation with Royal Jordanian, to arrange flights for Jordanian students wishing to return home from Yemen.

“Students are urged to contact the Jordanian embassy in Sanaa in case of emergency, including those who want to leave Yemen.”

Khasawneh also said that all Jordanians in Yemen can contact the embassy 24/7 on 009671413277 and 009671413276, or they can call the Foreign Ministry on 00967736412412, 0096265735150 and 0096265735166.

Armed Shiite rebels pushed into Yemen’s capital after clashing with the army in the city’s northwest outskirts on Thursday, Reuters reported, quoting security sources and residents.

Residents of northwest Al Shamlan district told the agency that the Shiite Houthi gunmen were now advancing along Thalatheen Street, a major route into the western edge of the city.

The fighting has further destabilised an impoverished country also struggling to overcome a secessionist movement in its south, the spread of an Al Qaeda insurgency and other threats, Reuters said.