Bangladeshis evacuated from Yemen arrive home

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh said on Sunday it had brought back 337 of its citizens from strife-torn Yemen with the help of India, with the total number of Bangladeshis evacuated so far reaching 500. The ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement the Bangladeshis had arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by special flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. They were first taken to the south Indian port city of Kochi by Indian ships on Saturday from Djibouti in Africa. India conducted an air and sea evacuation operation late last month to bring back its nationals stranded in Yemen. "We requested India to help bring home back our citizens stranded in the Middle Eastern country and it responded friendly," Shahriar told reporters. As India has wrapped up its evacuation operation, Bangladesh plans to repatriate the remaining Bangladeshis from Djibouti by its own arrangements. Muhammad Shahidul Haqu, secretary to the ministry of foreign affairs, told Reuters he was not sure how many more Bangladeshis intended to return back. (Reporting By Serajul Quadir; editing by Clelia Oziel)