Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Cheonghae unit’s Wang Geon Ham dispatched to waters near the Gulf of Aden to evacuate

six Koreans and six people of friendly allied nations … arrived at Oman

 

 

 

The Ministry of National Defense(MND) said on April 9 that Cheonghae unit’s Wang Geon Ham has performed the task to successfully evacuate 12 Koreans and other people of allied nations from Yemen, which suffers from instability due to the civil war, to Oman.

 

MND and the Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) threw the Cheonghae unit, which is performing antipiracy operation in waters of the Gulf of Aden, into the evacuation operation according to the government’s plan to evacuate our people to a safe area since the situation in Yemen is getting worse since rebel forces have assumed control of the capital city, Sana’a. 

 

Thus, six Koreans and six people from other nations including the U.S., Switzerland, Canada and New Zealand who were living in Socotra Island, Yemen, joined the Wang Geon Ham at Hadibo port at 11 a.m. on April 9, local time. The vessel is providing several amenities such as accomodations, meals, medical support, etc., to minimize the people’s inconveniences on board.

 

When Wang Geon Ham arrives at Salalah port in Oman around 6 a.m. on April 10, the quick reaction team the Ministry of Foreign Affair(MOFA) has dispatched will help with the immigration procedures to Korea or other countries.

 

For this operation, close military cooperation between Korea and the U.S. played a larger role, with explanation about the local situation from the U.S. central command, Combined Joint Task Forces-Horn of Africa, and combined naval command.

 

Vice Admiral Lee Ki-sik, who controlled the evacuation operation, said, “As the situation in Yemen rapidly became unstable, we were able to perfectly carry out the evacuation operation with close cooperation among the MND, MOFA and JCS as well as military collaboration with allied nations.”

 

Prior to this, the MND and JCS had supported the evacuation operation by sending a liaison officer on March 28 and 31, and since April 3, they have installed a temporary official residence on Wang Geon Ham to secure safety of the people who remained in Yemen.

 

Doctor Lee Chang-san of the NGO said, “I deeply appreciate our Navy for coming to the Socotra far away from Korea and evacuating us to a safer place.”

 

The MND and JCS have evaluated this operation as not only a successful accomplishment of the objective of the overseas dispatch, “Korean protection in emergency”, but also enhancement of the nation’s position in international society by helping people from other nations.

 

 

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >

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