About 3,500 Canadians requested departure assistance from Middle East, Gulf regions: Foreign minister
'We have just confirmed four busses leaving Qatar to Saudi Arabia, starting on Saturday,' says Anita Anand
HAMILTON, Canada
Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand on Friday announced that approximately 3,500 nationals requested to leave the Middle East and Gulf regions amid continued military escalation.
"As of this morning, more than 108,000 Canadians in the region have registered with Global Affairs. Of these, approximately 3,500 Canadians have contacted Global Affairs to request assistance in departing," Anand told a virtual briefing on the latest situation of Canadians in the region.
Noting that the information for departures is being directly sent to Canadians who seek assistance, Anand said: "At this time, our government continues to provide three types of departure options: first, charter flights, second, block bookings and third, ground transportation, when and where it is safe to do so."
"Our government has secured a charter flight from Dubai to Istanbul that accommodates 180 Canadians. This flight is scheduled to depart tomorrow, March 7," she said, adding that there is another charter flight agreement from Dubai to Toronto on March 7 for 51 people.
She said "if any seats are unused by Canadians, we will offer them to Europeans and like-minded missions for their staff or citizens."
On ground transportation assistance, she announced that four buses from Qatar to Saudi Arabia are confirmed with 180 seats to offer Canadians.
"We encourage Canadians who are registered with the ROCA (Registration of Canadians Abroad) system to indicate their desire to utilize this means of transportation if they wish to do so," she added.
Describing the situation in the region as "volatile and unpredictable," the minister stressed that Ottawa has "no intention to participate in Operation Epic Fury."
"We were not consulted on this military operation and have not participated," she said.
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Saturday, killing more than 1,000 people, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, over 150 schoolgirls, and senior military officials.
Iran has retaliated with sweeping barrages of its own that have targeted US bases, diplomatic facilities, and military personnel across the region, as well as multiple Israeli cities. The attacks have continued to escalate.
