The Malaysian government announced yesterday that it is considering withdrawing forces deployed in Saudi Arabia.

Malaysian Defence Minister Mohammed Sabu said in a statement that his country’s forces did not participate in the war in Yemen or in operations against Daesh while deployed in Saudi Arabia.

“Malaysia has always adopted a neutral policy and does not favour any political ideology of the world’s major powers”, Malaysian Bernama news agency quoted the minister as saying, adding that “the Malaysian government is actively involved in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and has even been its chairman”.

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The Malaysian minister expressed his country’s readiness to evacuate Malaysian citizens from Yemen in the event of a crisis.

The minister did not provide any information on the number of Malaysian troops deployed in Saudi Arabia.