The number of Egyptians working in Yemen is between 6000 and 7000 workers, said the minister of manpower and migration on Monday, adding that they include 500 married to Yemeni women.
Minister Nahed al-Ashri said in a press release that the ministry is preparing a free application to count the workers likely to return from the restive country. The application would collect the worker's data, the date he entered Yemen, the name of the organisation he works for and the type and quantity of harm he suffered.
The application aims to count the losses of Egyptian workers in Yemen in light of the latest Saudi-led strikes on the restive country, in order to ask for compensation "whenever the circumstances allow it," the ministry said in its statement.
Saudi Arabia launched military operations in its conflict-torn neighbour Yemen on Thursday as part of a coalition that includes 9 other countries, Egypt among them.
The operations come in response to a request by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who called for an Arab intervention in his country to halt the Shi'a Houthis' advances.
Ashri said her ministry is in continuous communication with the Foreign Ministry to check on the circumstances of Egyptians in Yemen since Egypt's embassy and its offices were closed.
Egypt's embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa was shut down temporarily in January, then once again in February, when the diplomatic mission relocated in Aden. The mission reportedly left the southern city on Wednesday amid advances by the Houthi rebels.
