New Delhi. 250 Indians have been evacuated from Sudan by two transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Earlier, 278 civilians were evacuated from this violence-hit African country through naval ship INS Sumedha. According to official figures, the number of Indian nationals evacuated from Sudan so far has reached around 530.
India has set up a transit facility in Jeddah as part of ‘Operation Kaveri’, a campaign to evacuate Indian nationals from Sudan. Indian nationals are being brought to this city in Saudi Arabia after being deported from Sudan. India on Tuesday evacuated its first batch of 278 citizens from violence-hit Sudan through INS Sumedha and brought necessary relief material to the remaining Indians stranded there.
Hours later, a C130J transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force landed in Port Sudan to evacuate more Indian nationals. Thereafter, the civilians were evacuated by another C130J aircraft. Foreign Minister S. According to Jaishankar, 121 civilians were evacuated through the first C130J aircraft and 135 in the second aircraft. India has set up a control room in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah to facilitate the evacuation of Indian nationals from Sudan.
It may be noted that an operation has been launched to evacuate about 3000 Indians from Sudan. However, Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan has reached Jeddah to oversee the evacuation operation. Foreign Ministry spokesman Aridam Bagchi had told that another Indian Navy ship INS Teg has joined the evacuation operation from Sudan. The spokesperson said, “INS Teg has reached the port of Sudan. It has more officers and relief material for the stranded Indians. This will supplement evacuation efforts at the Camp Office at Port Sudan.
It is to be noted that there is a fierce struggle going on in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary group to gain power. More than 400 people have lost their lives in the fierce fighting that has been going on for the last 12 days. At the same time, after the two sides agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in Sudan, India has stepped up efforts to evacuate its citizens trapped there. Speaking about the evacuation operation, Minister of State for External Affairs Muraleedharan had said necessary infrastructure has been created at the Sudanese port and Jeddah.
He had tweeted, “Joined ‘Operation Kaveri’ team after reaching Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, went to control room set up to arrange evacuation of Indians from Sudan. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had said on Monday that Operation Kaveri has started to bring back our citizens stranded in Sudan. Indian ships and aircraft are ready to bring Indians back home.
It may be noted that India on Sunday said that two C-130J military transport aircraft have been kept ready to fly in Jeddah as part of its contingency plan to safely evacuate Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan from the African country. Also, an Indian Navy ship INS Sumedha was stationed at an important port in the region. In a high-level meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the preparation of contingency plans for the safe evacuation of over 3,000 Indians from Sudan.
Last week, Jaishankar spoke to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt about the ground situation in Sudan to ensure the safe evacuation of Indians. Jaishankar had discussed the situation in Sudan with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday.
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