A total of 122 Chinese nationals were evacuated from conflict-wracked Yemen on Monday, China’s foreign ministry said.

A total of 122 Chinese nationals were evacuated from conflict-wracked Yemen on Monday, China's foreign ministry said.

A People's Liberation Army (PLA) naval detachment, which had been carrying out anti-piracy escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters, was sent to Yemen on Sunday to pull Chinese nationals from the country, China's defense ministry said in a statement.

The flotilla has two guided-missile frigates and a supply ship, the Global Times reported Monday.

The 122 Chinese citizens have been evacuated to Djibouti and will return to their home country from there, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular briefing.

Chinese diplomats will "try their best to arrange for the immediate evacuation of other people left in Yemen", she said.

Previous Chinese media reports quoted Tian Qi, Beijing's ambassador to Sanaa, as saying that there were a total of 590 Chinese citizens in the country.