At least one Nigerian has been identified among dozens of persons injured following the interception of Iranian ballistic missiles in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
In a statement on Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence disclosed that its air defence units had detected a total of 262 ballistic missiles fired from Iran since the start of the hostilities.
According to the ministry, 241 of the missiles were successfully intercepted, while 19 landed in the sea.
However, two missiles fell within the UAE’s territory, leading to casualties and injuries.
“These attacks resulted in six deaths of Emirati, Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationalities, and 122 cases of minor and moderate injuries of Emirati, Egyptian, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Filipino, Pakistani, Iranian, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Azerbaijani, Yemeni, Ugandan, Eritrean, Lebanese, Afghan, Bahraini, Comorian, Turkish, Iraqi, Nepalese, Nigerian, Omani, Jordanian and Palestinian nationalities,” the ministry said.
Officials did not provide a breakdown of the number of injured persons from each country.
The latest incident comes as the UAE continues to repel missile and drone attacks from Iran, which it says are retaliatory strikes over allegations that the Gulf country allowed the United States to launch attacks from American military bases located in the UAE.
On Wednesday, the UAE defence ministry said its forces were intercepting additional missiles and drones fired by Iran, adding that the country remained fully prepared to counter any threats and protect its national interests.
Meanwhile, Nigerians stranded across several Gulf countries have appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria to prepare repatriation flights in case the security situation deteriorates further.
It remains unclear how many Nigerians are currently trapped in Iran or other Middle Eastern countries affected by the ongoing conflict.
Countries such as Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are popular travel, work and transit destinations for Nigerian citizens.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), said Nigeria will begin repatriating its citizens stranded in the Middle East once “the airspace opens”.
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