Operation 'Kaveri': Nearly 1,100 Indians Evacuated, Areas Outside Khartoum Hard to Access, Says MEA | Updates

India is in touch with all sides in Sudan to ensure the safety of Indians stranded in the strife-torn African nation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday. Under ‘Operation Kaveri’, India has evacuated nearly 1,100 people from Sudan so far and is looking at rescuing more of its citizens before the end of the tenuous ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary force.

In its fourth round of operation, 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 people rescued to over 1000.

“The 4th IAF C-130J flight takes off from Port Sudan for Jeddah with 128 passengers. This is the sixth batch of Indians to be evacuated from Sudan under #OperationKaveri, taking the total to nearly 1100 persons,” tweeted Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, MEA.

Latest Updates in ‘Operation Kaveri’

▶In a media address, the Ministry of External Affairs said India is constantly monitoring the situation in Sudan.

▶”Several ceasefires have been announced, some not honoured, some partially. The situation on the ground remains volatile…It is hard to access areas outside Khartoum,” said Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

▶”We are constantly monitoring the situation in Sudan since the conflict began on April 15. Our estimate is that there are approximately 3,500 Indians and 1,000 people of Indian Origin s in Sudan…Our INS Sumedha is already there…The third naval ship- INS Tarkash- has also reached Port Sudan today to evacuate Indians from Sudan,” Kwatra said.

“Roughly 600 Indians have either arrived in India or are on their way,” he added.

▶Foreign Secretary Kwatra informed that India has received requests for the evacuation of citizens of other countries from Sudan. “This is subject to the fulfilment of the procedures,” he said.

▶He said the security situation in Sudan remains very complex and highly volatile and India’s efforts have been to ensure the safety of Indian nationals.

“Our focus has been to take out the Indians from the conflict zones to safer areas as soon as possible and then to bring them back home,” the foreign secretary said.

▶Referring to India’s evacuation mission ‘Operation Kaveri’, he said 360 Indians have been brought back home and another batch of 246 are reaching India soon.

▶At present, he said around 320 Indians are in Port Sudan and they are being taken to Saudi city of Jeddah.

▶The total number of people evacuated from Sudan so far stands at 1095, according to official data.

▶In the first batch, India evacuated 278 citizens, followed by 121 in the second, 135 in the third, 136 in the fourth, 297 in the fifth and 128 in the sixth round.

▶External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has spoken to UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and discussed the evolving situation in Sudan, as India stepped up efforts to evacuate its stranded citizens from the strife-torn African country.

▶Jaishankar, who arrived here in Colombia’s capital from Panama, on Monday announced the launch of the mission ‘Operation Kaveri’ has been witnessing fierce fighting following a power struggle between the regular army and the RSF.

▶On Wednesday night the first group of 360 evacuees arrived in New Delhi from Jeddah in a commercial aircraft.

▶Under its evacuation mission ‘Operation Kaveri’, India is taking the evacuees from Sudan to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah from where they are returning home.

▶India has set up a transit facility at 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 were evacuated from Port Sudan by the Indian Navy’s frontline ship INS Sumedha on Tuesday.

▶According to Indian External Minister Dr S Jaishankar, the first C-130J aircraft brought to Jeddah 121 passengers while the second plane evacuated 135.

▶India stepped up its efforts to evacuate the Indians from Sudan as a 72-hour truce was agreed to between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following intense negotiations.

▶Sources said a C-17 military transport aircraft of the IAF has left for Jeddah on Wednesday to bring back the evacuees from Jeddah to Mumbai. The aircraft is expected to land in Mumbai on Thursday morning.

“Our efforts to swiftly send Indians back home from Jeddah is paying. 246 Indians will be in Mumbai soon, travelling by IAF C17 Globemaster. Happy to see them off at Jeddah airport,” Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said in a tweet.

▶ Indian Air Force women pilots also part of the Sudan Evacuation mission.

▶Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group that has reportedly left around 400 people dead.

▶External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Monday announced the launch of ‘Operation Kaveri’ to bring back the stranded Indians from Sudan.

▶India on Sunday said it has positioned two transport aircraft of the IAF in Jeddah and naval ship INS Sumedha at Port Sudan as part of its contingency plans to evacuate the Indians.

▶Apart from the Sudanese authorities, the MEA and the Indian embassy in Sudan have been in regular touch with the UN, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and US among others.

▶At a high-level meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had issued directions for preparation of contingency plans to evacuate Indians from Sudan.

▶Last week, Jaishankar spoke to his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt on the ground situation in Sudan with a focus on ensuring the safety of the Indians.

▶On Thursday, Jaishankar discussed the situation in Sudan with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

(With PTI inputs)

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