Lima.- The Peruvian Government suspended the general elections of April 12 for nationals living in Middle Eastern countries due to “the seriousness of the situation” in that area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported this Wednesday.
Through a statement, the Executive announced that this measure was taken in the last session of the Crisis Command in the Middle East, led by Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela, where the seriousness of the situation and the possibility that the conflict between the U.S. and Israel against Iran would be prolonged were evaluated.
After addressing the reports of the situation in the gulf and to safeguard the integrity of the Peruvian community in the countries in conflict: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Lebanon, De Zela ordered “that the general elections of April 12 in the Middle East be cancelled”.
He added that this decision, which affects some 5,600 Peruvians residing in those countries, was immediately communicated to the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE).
The attention and evacuation of Peruvians in the Middle East
On the other hand, diplomatic officials in the countries of the area provided details of the emergency situation being experienced and the risks that remaining in said area would entail if the situation were to extend, both for resident and stranded nationals, as well as for their families and themselves.
In this regard, it was agreed at the meeting to reinforce the actions taken to achieve a rapid evacuation of all nationals in transit who were stranded.
The chancellor ordered that diplomatic staff be reinforced in the missions of the United Arab Emirates, in order to attend to the demands and information of Peruvian citizens.
Likewise, he urged the heads of the diplomatic missions of Peru in those countries to remain safe with their families and ready to take other actions if the conflict worsens.
So far, a total of 163 Peruvians who were stranded have been evacuated to safe areas, and permanent contact is maintained with another 62 nationals for their evacuation.
Israel attacked this Wednesday, on the 19th day of the war, the gas facilities of Pars Sur, which are part of the world’s largest gas field shared by Iran and Qatar, and killed the Iranian Minister of Intelligence, Ismail Khatib.
In addition, three Palestinian women died on Wednesday night in the West Bank and seven others were injured as a result of the tenth barrage of missiles by Tehran against Israeli soil from Tuesday midnight to Wednesday, which affected the southern area of Israel and also the south of the West Bank.
