Kuwait breaks up riot among Egyptian workers seeking repatriation

Representatives of the Egyptian embassy in Kuwait attended the shelter and told workers that they would begin preparing schedules for their return flights

Expatriate returning from Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon arrive to be re-tested at a Kuwaiti health ministry containment and screening zone for COVID-19 coronavirus disease in Kuwait City on March 16, 2020. - Facing a mounting public health threat, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman have taken drastic measures to combat the pandemic. Kuwait has taken the strictest measures in the GCC by largely locking down the country over the weekend. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)

Expatriates who seek to return to Egypt from Kuwait riot. AFP

Reuters

May 04, 2020

Kuwaiti security officials broke up a riot by Egyptian workers seeking repatriation after being held in special housing units for violations of the country's residence law, Kuwait's Ministry of Interior said on Monday.

Security officials intervened after "riots and chaos" and seized a number of people who would face legal measures, the statement said.

A Yemeni vendor sorts leaves of qat, the ubiquitous mild narcotic, at a market in the capital Sanaa on May 1, 2020. AFP

Coronavirus: Yemen's qat markets flourish despite pandemic

Coronavirus: UAE registers 240 new cases of Covid-19 as total reaches 1,264

Saudi streets fall silent as 24-hour curfew seeks to stem tide of coronavirus

Representatives of the Egyptian embassy in Kuwait attended the shelter and told workers that they would begin preparing schedules for their return flights this week, the statement said. The Egyptian embassy also apologised for the riots, it said.

Kuwait agreed last month to allow expatriates violating its residency laws to leave the country without paying fines or air tickets, with women and children due to leave first.