Operation Kaveri: 1,100 Indians rescued so far from Sudan by INS Sumedha, says Union Minister Muraleedharan
At a high-level meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had issued directions for preparation of contingency plans to evacuate Indians from Sudan.
Operation Kaveri: MoS of Ministry of External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Thursday said 297 more Indians were rescued from violence-hit Sudan. With this second ship, in total six batches, around 1,100 Indians were pulled out from Sudan. Ship INS Sumedha, as a part evacuation mission 'Operation Kaveri', brought stranded Indians in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
"#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," Muraleedharan tweeted.
Situation in Sudan highly volatile: Foreign Secretary
The security situation in Sudan remains very complex and highly volatile and India's efforts have been to ensure safety of Indian nationals, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday.
At a media briefing, he said India has been in touch with all the concerned sides in Sudan with a focus on taking out Indians from the conflict zones.
"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.
EAM Jaishankar discusses Sudan situation with UK
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' to bring back the stranded Indians from Sudan that has been witnessing fierce fighting following a power struggle between the regular army and the RSF.
"Spoke to UK Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly just now. Discussed the evolving situation in Sudan," he tweeted on Thursday.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that his government has commenced a “large-scale” evacuation effort to help British nationals leave Sudan.
"The government has begun a large-scale evacuation of British passport holders from Sudan on RAF flights. Priority will be given to the most vulnerable, including families with children and the elderly,” Sunak tweeted.
Jaishankar took to Twitter to share images of the Indian evacuees after their arrival at the Delhi airport.
"India welcomes back its own. Operation Kaveri brings 360 Indian nationals to the homeland as first flight reaches New Delhi," he tweeted.
"OperationKaveri takes more steps forward. Another 136 Indian Nationals have been moved to safety in Jeddah. They will come home soon," he said in another tweet.
India has evacuated at least 670 Indian nationals from Sudan and is looking to rescue more of its citizens from the strife-torn African nation before the end of a tenuous ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary force.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last 12 days that has reportedly left around 400 people dead.
India stepped up its efforts to evacuate the Indians from Sudan after a 72-hour truce was agreed between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces following intense negotiations.
India has set up a transit facility in Jeddah and Union 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.
Jaishankar is on a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, his first visit as the external affairs minister to these Latin American countries and the Caribbean.
(With PTI input)