Diplomats said a range of Arab and Islamic states have ordered their
soldiers to return home from Egypt amid the increasingly violent
confrontation between the opposition and the regime of President Hosni
Mubarak. They said Egypt's military and security forces had been hosting more
than 2,000 foreign cadets, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Egypt has long been the military training center of the Arab world, but
the situation has become very dangerous," an Arab diplomat said.
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So far, several countries have sent aircraft to bring their military
cadets home. They included Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which have long used
Egypt as a military and police training center.
On Feb. 3, Kuwaiti Defense Minister Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah ordered the
Air Force to send two air transports to Cairo to evacuate sheikdom nationals
in Egyptian military and police academies. A Kuwaiti military statement did
not say how many cadets were studying in Egypt, but diplomats estimated the number at
about 500.
Other countries were also said to have sent aircraft to Egypt to return
their cadets and other nationals. Saudi Arabia was said to have evacuated
more than 20,000 nationals over the last week. The United States was said to
have begun the evacuation of hundreds of military trainers and contractors in
Egypt.