⚡UN human rights chief Volker Türk called on countries involved in the war in the Middle East to cooperate for the evacuation and return of around 6,000 sailors who have been stranded in the Persian Gulf.

At the time the Islamic Republic blocked the Strait of Hormuz in early March, about 20,000 sailors were stranded in the Persian Gulf, but after a ceasefire between the Islamic Republic and the United States, the process of ships and their crews leaving accelerated. With the resumption of war and the Islamic Republic’s attacks on ships, the process of evacuating sailors from the Persian Gulf has nearly come to a stop.

The spokesperson for Türk’s office told reporters in Geneva that the parties involved must immediately cooperate to ensure the safe passage of stranded seafarers and their safe evacuation, and also ensure that the equipment and essential items they need are delivered to them.