Mexico’s Foreign Relations Ministry (SRE) said Wednesday that at least 279 Mexicans have been evacuated from the Middle East, as the U.S-Israeli war on Iran enters its fifth day. The SRE expects the number of evacuees to increase in the coming days as more of the estimated 7,000 Mexican citizens in the war zone seek to leave.

Complicating the evacuation efforts has been the difficulty of identifying safe escape routes and finding flights that have not been canceled. 

Mexico urges peace, monitors 7,000 nationals amid US-Israel strikes on Iran

The escalation of the conflict has led many countries in the Middle East to close their airspace, causing disruptions to air travel both in the region and globally. The widespread closures began on Feb. 27, immediately following the first attacks that day by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, and the subsequent retaliatory response.

According to the SRE, Mexicans have fled by land from Israel, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon and Qatar, to countries such as Egypt and Turkey, which have had open airspace as of Wednesday.

On the evening of March 2, the U.A.E partially opened its airspace to allow a limited number of flights. Meanwhile, Jordan lifted a continuous total lockdown it had maintained with broad nighttime closures, and Saudi Arabia has a partial closing affecting the northern area of the country. 

In contrast, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria have total closures. 

Some safe evacuation routes north of the Arabian Peninsula have been mapped, such as from Jordan and Israel to Egypt. Meanwhile, evacuations from countries along the Persian Gulf are conducted through corridors to Oman and Saudi Arabia.

“Each situation is carefully analyzed individually to ensure that established evacuation corridors operate safely, as well as other possible alternatives,” the SRE said. 

An attack on Ras Al Khaima, an Emirate north of the UAE, on Sunday, March 1. (Video sent to the writer from a neighbor in the UAE)

Mexico’s Embassy in Qatar announced Wednesday that those who wish to leave the country will have to do so “at their own risk,” following an announcement by Qatari authorities indicating that “they could not guarantee” the safety of those evacuating. Nonetheless, the Mexican Embassy has prepared a form that must be completed by those who still wish to evacuate by land through Saudi Arabia. The deadline to send the form is March 5, at 8 a.m. Qatar time. 

Meanwhile, the Mexican Embassy in the UAE issued a form on Wednesday to be completed by those interested in being repatriated. The Embassy noted that this form is for informative purposes only, and that “the possibility of carrying out a repatriation operation will depend on the evaluation of the safety situation in the region.”

The SRE has advised people to avoid traveling to the region.

Mexico News Daily’s Gaby Solís reporting from the UAE