Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Embassy in Cairo is ready to evacuate 455 Indonesians from Egypt using an airplane, the chief of the embassy`s citizens` protection unit, Colonel R Teguh Isgunanto, said here on Tuesday.

Teguh said the plane which would bring the first fleet of evacuees out from Egypt was still at Jeddah airport, Saudi Arabia, and now preparing to leave for Cairo.

Teguh said women and children were prioritized during the first evacuation. The 455 evacuees had gathered at the Indonesian immigration consulate in Nasr city and were ready to leave for Cairo airport. He said the embassy would use small cars in transferring Indonesian citizen to the airport since the local government had banned all tourist buses to operate in the city.

The chief the Indonesian Embassy`s Social and Cultural Affairs Iwan Widjaya said the evacuation of the rest of Indonesians would be conducted after a special unit had been formed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last Monday (Jan 31) evaluating all aspects from the first evacuation attempt.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Indonesian Students` Union in Egypt Salahuddin Nurhalim said many of his members who were living outside Cairo found it hard to enter the city because several roads was still blocked.

He also said some students already stated their reluctance to leave Egypt because they were afraid they could no longer enter the country in the future.

According to data from Foreign Affairs Ministry there are 6,149 Indonesian living in Egypt consisting of 4,297 students and 1,002 workers, Indonesian Embassy`s staff and their family. Most of Indonesians in Egypt live quiet far from strategic places which had been the center of riots recently. (*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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