China has said it helped 10 countries evacuate 225 of their citizens from Yemen, where Iran-allied rebels have seized the two main cities, the first Beijing has assisted in the evacuation of foreign nationals during an international crisis.
A Chinese missile frigate carried the foreign nationals from the Port of Aden, bound for Djibouti, on Thursday afternoon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on its website late Thursday.
Violence has been spreading across Yemen since last year, when Shi'ite Houthi fighters seized the capital, Sanaa, and effectively removed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. A Saudi-led coalition has hit the rebels with air strikes over the past week.
The ministry said the countries - Pakistan, Ethiopia, Singapore, Italy, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Britain, Canada and Yemen - requested China's help with the evacuation.
China had earlier evacuated 571 of its own nationals, along with eight foreigners who worked for Chinese companies.