BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand’s Middle East conflict monitoring center on Wednesday said 381 Thai nationals have been evacuated from the region to date, as the government moves to mitigate rising living costs driven by the volatility.
Santi Piyatat, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, said the conflict has impacted energy prices and transport costs, prompting the Consumer Protection Board to implement six measures to prevent businesses from unfair price hikes or refusing sales.
Panidone Patchimsawat, acting Director-General of the Department of Information, described the regional situation as highly uncertain following heavy attacks in Iran, Iraq, Israel, and Lebanon.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the first group of evacuees from Iran has arrived in Thailand, while a second group of 68 has reached a temporary operations center in Van, Turkey, with arrivals in Bangkok scheduled for March 12 and 13. Additionally, 14 Thai nationals from Iraq have moved to the Turkey center for further coordination, and 24 citizens stranded in Qatar are expected to reach Bangkok Wednesday night via Qatar Airways.
Returning citizens described a harrowing ordeal. Patcharee Raksawong, who arrived from Doha with her two children, said she faced severe anxiety while waiting for airspace to reopen. “I wanted to return many times, but the airspace was closed and there were no commercial flights available for the general public initially,” she said. (TNA)
