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Over 1700 Indian nationals have been moved out of the volatile conflict zone in Sudan
Asserting that the focus is on getting every Indian national in the conflict zone “out of harm’s way,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Thursday said that the ground situation in Sudan is still highly volatile.
So far, over 1100 Indians had arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after being evacuated from Sudan under Operation Kaveri, according to information provided by Foreign Secretary Kwatra during a special media briefing in New Delhi.
"Roughly 600 Indian nationals have either arrived in India or are on their way. So, 360 of them arrived by a chartered Saudi Arabia flight yesterday night. Another 246 are being flown to Maharashtra in a C17 flight. Approximately, 495 Indian nationals are in Jeddah as of now," the Foreign Secretary said.
The immediate priority is to get all Indians out of the conflict zone and over 1,700 people had already been moved out to safer areas, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said.
There were 320 Indian nationals stationed in Port Sudan currently, he said, adding that more Indians were being moved in buses from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Two C-130J medium lift aircraft of the IAF stationed in Saudi Arabia and naval warships will make sorties to take the Indians arriving in Port Sudan, located about 850 km from the capital Khartoum, to Jeddah.
Providing information on the evacuations carried out so far, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said that on Tuesday (April 25, 2023), the warship INS Sumedha took 278 Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah while 256 more were transported in two sorties by the C-130J aircraft. Another warship, INS Teg, ferried 297 Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah, while the C-130J aircraft airlifted 264 more in two sorties.
There are approximately 3,500 Indians and about 1,000 Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) in Sudan, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said. “We are constantly monitoring the situation in Sudan ever since the conflict broke out there between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15,” he added.
Elaborating on the ground situation, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said ceasefires had been declared by both sides several times; many of those were not honoured while some were honoured partially. The latest 72-hour ceasefire (announced on Tuesday) is holding by and large but there have been reports of sporadic firing and fighting going on in some parts of Khartoum, he added.
“We have been working very closely with the government and leadership of Saudi Arabia and they have been extremely helpful, supportive and cooperative in this endeavour. We are extremely grateful to them for that,” Foreign Secretary Kwatra said in response to a question. In this context, he referred to the control room set up in Jeddah, and stationing of Indian Air Force and Indian Navy assets in Saudi Arabia to bring back the Indian nationals.
He also said that India has received requests for the evacuation of citizens from other countries in Sudan, which will be subject to due procedures (in the transit country, Saudi Arabia).
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, who is in Saudi Arabia to coordinate the evacuations, gave updates on Operation Kaveri through a series of tweets.
"#OperationKaveri continues in swift pace. Happy to receive 297 Indians at Jeddah carried by INS Teg. With this second ship and total six batches, around 1100 Indians rescued from Sudan have arrived in Jeddah. Repatriation to India of those arriving today will commence shortly," MoS Muraleedharan tweeted.
"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. #OperationKaveri," he said in another tweet.
He also shared a video clip of Indians arriving in Jeddah on an IAF flight and wrote, "Another IAF C-130J flight under #OperationKaveri arrived at Jeddah with 128 Indians, the fourth aircraft from Sudan. Efforts are on to ensure that all Indians, who arrived in Jeddah will be sent to India at the earliest".
This was the sixth batch of Indians to be evacuated from Sudan, taking the total number to 1100, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a separate tweet, sharing images of what was the 4th IAF C-130J flight to take off from Port Sudan.
So far, over 1100 Indians had arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after being evacuated from Sudan under Operation Kaveri, according to information provided by Foreign Secretary Kwatra during a special media briefing in New Delhi.
"Roughly 600 Indian nationals have either arrived in India or are on their way. So, 360 of them arrived by a chartered Saudi Arabia flight yesterday night. Another 246 are being flown to Maharashtra in a C17 flight. Approximately, 495 Indian nationals are in Jeddah as of now," the Foreign Secretary said.
The immediate priority is to get all Indians out of the conflict zone and over 1,700 people had already been moved out to safer areas, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said.
There were 320 Indian nationals stationed in Port Sudan currently, he said, adding that more Indians were being moved in buses from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Two C-130J medium lift aircraft of the IAF stationed in Saudi Arabia and naval warships will make sorties to take the Indians arriving in Port Sudan, located about 850 km from the capital Khartoum, to Jeddah.
Providing information on the evacuations carried out so far, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said that on Tuesday (April 25, 2023), the warship INS Sumedha took 278 Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah while 256 more were transported in two sorties by the C-130J aircraft. Another warship, INS Teg, ferried 297 Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah, while the C-130J aircraft airlifted 264 more in two sorties.
There are approximately 3,500 Indians and about 1,000 Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) in Sudan, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said. “We are constantly monitoring the situation in Sudan ever since the conflict broke out there between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15,” he added.
Elaborating on the ground situation, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said ceasefires had been declared by both sides several times; many of those were not honoured while some were honoured partially. The latest 72-hour ceasefire (announced on Tuesday) is holding by and large but there have been reports of sporadic firing and fighting going on in some parts of Khartoum, he added.
“We have been working very closely with the government and leadership of Saudi Arabia and they have been extremely helpful, supportive and cooperative in this endeavour. We are extremely grateful to them for that,” Foreign Secretary Kwatra said in response to a question. In this context, he referred to the control room set up in Jeddah, and stationing of Indian Air Force and Indian Navy assets in Saudi Arabia to bring back the Indian nationals.
He also said that India has received requests for the evacuation of citizens from other countries in Sudan, which will be subject to due procedures (in the transit country, Saudi Arabia).
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, who is in Saudi Arabia to coordinate the evacuations, gave updates on Operation Kaveri through a series of tweets.
"#OperationKaveri continues in swift pace. Happy to receive 297 Indians at Jeddah carried by INS Teg. With this second ship and total six batches, around 1100 Indians rescued from Sudan have arrived in Jeddah. Repatriation to India of those arriving today will commence shortly," MoS Muraleedharan tweeted.
"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. #OperationKaveri," he said in another tweet.
He also shared a video clip of Indians arriving in Jeddah on an IAF flight and wrote, "Another IAF C-130J flight under #OperationKaveri arrived at Jeddah with 128 Indians, the fourth aircraft from Sudan. Efforts are on to ensure that all Indians, who arrived in Jeddah will be sent to India at the earliest".
This was the sixth batch of Indians to be evacuated from Sudan, taking the total number to 1100, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a separate tweet, sharing images of what was the 4th IAF C-130J flight to take off from Port Sudan.
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