Under ‘Operation Kaveri’, India has so far evacuated around 1,100 people from Sudan and is looking to evacuate more of its citizens from the strife-torn African country before the end of a ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary force. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
In its fourth round of operations, a C-130J military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force brought 128 more Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah on Thursday, taking the total number of rescued people to over 1000.
“The fourth IAF C-130J flight took off from Port Sudan for Jeddah with 128 passengers. This is the 6th batch of Indians to be evacuated from Sudan under #OperationKaveri, taking the total to around 1100 people,” tweeted MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
India evacuated 278 citizens in the first batch, 121 in the second, 135 in the third, 136 in the fourth, 297 in the fifth and 128 in the sixth.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has spoken to UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and discussed the evolving situation in Sudan, as India steps up efforts to evacuate its stranded citizens from the strife-torn African country.
Jaishankar, who arrived in the Colombian capital from Panama, on Monday announced the launch of the mission ‘Operation Kaveri’, which is witnessing fierce fighting after a power struggle between the regular army and the RSF.
▶ On Wednesday night, the first batch of 360 people reached New Delhi from Jeddah by commercial flight.
India, under its evacuation mission ‘Operation Kaveri’, is taking evacuees from Sudan to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, from where they are returning home.
India has set up a transit facility in Jeddah and Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan is overseeing the evacuation mission from the Saudi Arabian city.
▶ The first batch of 278 Indians was evacuated from Port Sudan by the Indian Navy’s frontline ship INS Sumedha on Tuesday.
▶ According to Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, 121 passengers were brought to Jeddah in the first C-130J aircraft while 135 passengers were evacuated in the second aircraft.
India stepped up its efforts to evacuate Indians from Sudan as a 72-hour ceasefire was agreed between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) after intense talks.
▶ A C-17 military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force has left for Jeddah on Wednesday to bring back the evacuees from Jeddah to Mumbai, sources said. The plane is expected to land in Mumbai on Thursday morning.
“Our effort to speedily send Indians back home from Jeddah is paying off. 246 Indians will be in Mumbai soon, traveling by IAF C17 Globemaster. Happy to see him off at Jeddah airport.
▶ Women pilots of the Indian Air Force are also part of the Sudan evacuation mission.
▶ Sudan is witnessing deadly fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group that has reportedly left nearly 400 dead.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Monday announced the launch of ‘Operation Kaveri’ to bring back Indians stranded in Sudan.
India on Sunday said it has deployed two Indian Air Force transport aircraft in Jeddah and naval ship INS Sumedha in Port Sudan as part of its contingency plan to evacuate Indians.
▶ Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Embassy in Sudan have been in regular touch with UN, Saudi Arabia, UAE apart from Sudanese authorities.