India on Monday launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate its citizens from violence-hit Sudan.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar gave this information by tweeting.
Foreign Minister Jaishankar said that Indian ships and aircraft are ready to bring Indians home.
Jaishankar said in his tweet, ‘Operation Kaveri has started to bring back our citizens trapped in Sudan. About 500 Indians have reached the port of Sudan. Many more are on the way.
The Foreign Minister said, ‘Our ships and aircraft are ready to bring them (citizens) back home. Committed to provide all assistance to our brothers in Sudan.
It may be noted that on Sunday, India 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 this African country.
Also, an Indian Navy ship has been stationed at an important port in the region.
In a high level meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave instructions to prepare contingency plans for the safe evacuation of over 3000 Indians from Sudan.
It is to be known that in Sudan, more than 400 people have lost their lives in the fierce fighting between the army and a paramilitary group there for the last 10 days.
The Ministry of External Affairs had said that India is making every effort to ensure the safety of Indians trapped in Sudan.
“We are closely following the complex and evolving security situation in Sudan,” the ministry said.
It said, ‘We are closely coordinating with various partners for the safe evacuation of Indians stranded in Sudan and seeking to leave.’
The Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Sudan are in regular touch with the Sudanese authorities, including the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and the US, among others.
WHO on Sunday retweeted a post by Sudan’s health ministry that said at least 420 people have been killed and 3,700 injured in the fighting so far.
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that all US personnel and their families have been safely evacuated and operations at the US Embassy in Khartoum have been “temporarily suspended”.
Significantly, on April 15, violence broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum and other areas of Sudan between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and deputy rival Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.
The powerful paramilitary commands the Rapid Support Force.
