Canadians in the Middle East are being told to make plans “not to rely” on the Canadian government as the US and Israel’s war with Iran escalates.
About 97,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents are registered in the region, Global Affairs Canada said Tuesday.
Canadians are told to “avoid all travel” to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, and avoid non-essential travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
“While our ability to provide consular services to Canadians during active conflict is limited, priority is given to providing essential services such as processing travel documents,” GAC said in an update Tuesday morning.
“Canadians in affected countries should prepare contingency plans that do not rely on Government of Canada assistance for evacuation,” the department added.
However, the update added that GAC will share information with Canadians registered in the region as soon as air travel and/or land crossings become available.
As of Tuesday, the GAC said it was not aware of any Canadians injured or killed as a result of the hostilities.
Since registration with the GAC is voluntary, the actual number of Canadians in the region is likely to be higher.
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Iran alone has nearly 3,000 Canadians registered with the GAC, but the largest number are in the United Arab Emirates (24,594).
The GAC sends regular updates to registered Canadians and urges them to be alert to these messages and to follow the advice of local authorities.
US and Israeli attacks on Iran and Iran’s subsequent retaliation have caused global aviation disruptions.
Tens of thousands of people are stranded in the Middle East as the Iran war spreads across the region.
Air Canada has canceled flights to Israel and Dubai until March 22, with service expected to resume on March 23.
“We are monitoring the situation and will adjust our schedule accordingly,” the airline said.
European, Asian countries will relocate
Several European and Asian countries have already started evacuating their citizens from the affected areas.
Austrian Foreign Minister Beit Meinl-Reisinger announced that the return flight carrying the Austrians would leave the Omani capital Muscat on Wednesday. The minister said the first evacuation flight carrying “especially vulnerable persons” had already left on Sunday.
About 18,000 Austrian citizens are registered in the region, officials said.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginien said her country would begin the evacuation of “the most vulnerable groups of Lithuanian citizens” from the United Arab Emirates and other surrounding states.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that Poland has prepared planes for evacuation if the situation worsens in the region.
He estimates that there are 14,000 Polish citizens in the United Arab Emirates and a total of 400,000 people from the EU.
Tusk said that more than 480 Polish citizens have already managed to leave Israel, Jordan and Lebanon.
South Korean officials say 62 nationals have been evacuated by bus from Israel to Egypt, after earlier evacuating 23 Koreans from Iran.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said Tuesday it had evacuated four Americans of Korean descent from Israel.
Thailand will evacuate 300 nationals from Iran, including its diplomats there, overland via Turkey.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Tuesday that evacuees are expected to be transported to the Turkish border city as soon as possible before returning to Thailand.
Thai officials say about 100,000 Thai nationals live and work in the Middle East, including 60,000 Thai nationals in Israel.
About 1,000 Thai citizens have registered for repatriation in the United Arab Emirates and they can return on regular commercial flights, the prime minister said. However, the government is preparing to evacuate its citizens to other countries if the airspace is closed.
– with files from the Associated Press
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(Tags to translate)Iran(T)Iran War(T)Canada(T)World
