Operation Kaveri: 1,100 Indians evacuated from Sudan, 360 reach Delhi
What's the story
Nearly 1,100 Indians stranded in Sudan have been evacuated from the country in six batches so far under Operation Kaveri, which was launched to rescue Indians from the strife-torn Northeast African nation. The first set of 360 evacuees arrived in Delhi on Wednesday night from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah on a commercial flight. Over 1,900 Indians are still believed to be stuck in Sudan.
Context
Why does this story matter?
More than 427 people have been killed since the conflict between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, began on April 15 over the country's transition to civilian rule. Both warring sides agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire beginning Tuesday. The truce was mediated by the United States (US) and Saudi Arabia as several nations try to evacuate their citizens.
Twitter Post
Operation Kaveri to continue to rescue more
The 4th IAF C-130J flight takes off from Port Sudan for Jeddah with 128 passengers.
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) April 26, 2023
This is the sixth batch of Indians to be evacuated from Sudan under #OperationKaveri, taking the total to nearly 1100 persons. pic.twitter.com/lBhEHOiY9o
Evacuation
INS Sumedha brought back 278 Indians in first batch
In its fourth round of operation, the Indian Air Force's (IAF) heavy-lift C-130J Super Hercules aircraft brought 128 Indians to Jeddah from Port Sudan on Thursday. Notably, the Indian Navy's vessel INS Sumedha evacuated 278 Indians from Port Sudan on Tuesday in the first batch. In each of the six batches so far, 278, 121, 135, 136, 297, and 128 Indians have been evacuated .
Details
IAF's C-17 aircraft expected to land in Mumbai with evacuees
An IAF's C-17 large military transport aircraft also left for Jeddah from Mumbai on Wednesday to bring back evacuees. It is expected to return on Thursday morning. On Monday, France reportedly evacuated 388 people, including five Indian nationals, belonging to 28 countries in its A400M military aircraft and brought them to its military base in Djibouti. Earlier, Saudi Arabia also evacuated three Indian citizens.
Ministers
Muraleedharan in Jeddah to monitor evacuation
Notably, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan is overseeing the evacuation in Jeddah. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the ground situation with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt, and separately with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Previously, a 48-year-old Indian national Albert Augustine was killed by a stray bullet in Sudan.