Many Indonesians are trying to flee Syria, prompting the government to implement evacuation plans as escalating violence threatens to plunge the country into civil war.

With the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad becoming increasingly more bloody, more and more workers are looking to get out of the country, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said yesterday.

The government has repatriated 240 Indonesians so far and scores of others are due to be brought home in the coming days.

“Currently, there are 115 Indonesian citizens in a shelter in Damascus, 62 of them will be repatriated in the next few days,” Natalegawa told reporters at a press conference in Jakarta yesterday.

The ministry has established three shelters in the cities of Damascus, Allepo and Latakia and also sent six envoys to help with the evacuation process, Natalegawa added.

To ensure that evacuation process runs smoothly the government will cooperate with flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

Currently, there are almost 12,000 Indonesians working in the country, most of them as domestic workers.

“All are safe. None of them have fallen victim to the violence” Natalegawa said responding to reports that two Indonesians had been killed.

However, evacuations are being complicated as a result of the security situation and work contract issues that require negotiations with employers.

The Indonesian government is being forced to pay compensation to employers so that employees can terminate their contracts, Natalegawa said.

“This is what we have been trying to overcome, otherwise the Syrian authorities will not provide the required exit permits,” he said.