Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation concerning Indians in violence-hit Sudan, government sources said on Friday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Air Force and Navy chiefs, top officials of foreign and defence ministries and senior diplomats attended the meeting held virtually.
During the meeting, PM assessed the most recent developments in Sudan and received a first-hand report of the conditions on the ground, with specific focus on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens presently located throughout the country, PMO said.
"PM Modi further directed the preparation of contingency evacuation plans, accounting for the rapidly shifting security landscape and the viability of various options. He also emphasised the importance of maintaining close communication with neighbouring countries in the region, as well as those with significant numbers of citizens in Sudan," PMO added.
ndia on Thursday said the situation in Sudan is "very tense" and it is focusing on ensuring the safety and well-being of the Indian community, including working on contingency plans and possible evacuation.
The conflict is a direct result of a vicious power struggle within the country's military leadership. The clashes are between Sudan's regular army and a paramilitary force called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The Centre, in its latest advisory, has asked Indians in Sudan not to go to the Indian embassy in the country's capital Khartoum. Two rivals — the leader of the armed forces, Gen.Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have been raging war in violence-hit Sudan.
The MEA on Thursday said the ground situation in Sudan is very 'tense'. "We are counselling and telling them (Indians) how to stay safe. It's an evolving situation. The embassy is functioning, but we have told people not to go in person there as that zone is seeing a lot of fighting. People don't live there; nobody is inside embassy the building," spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Arindam Bagchi said.
