Operation Kaveri: Amid Bharatiya Janata Party's scathing attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the bungalow row, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmaker Sanjeev Arora praised Centre's 'Operation Kaveri' and Indian Air Force's (IAF) courageous service to evacuate Indians from conflict-hit Sudan.
"We should appreciate Operation Kaveri which has been started by the Government of India to evacuate Indians from conflict-torn Sudan. I also congratulate the Air Force officers in this regard for Special Operations in Sudan," said Rajya Sabha MP Arora.
IAF carries out daring operations
Despite the airstrip at Wadi Sidna in Sudan having no navigational approach, support or fuel and landing lights (which are necessary to guide an aircraft landing at night), the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Garuda commandos carried out a courageous, operated overnight, airlift of stranded Indians. Indian Air Force rescued 121 Indian nationals from a small airstrip at Wadi Saydna near Khartoum, Sudan during the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
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On Saturday, the sixth Operation Kaveri Flight with 365 Indian nationals on board has departed Jeddah for New Delhi. "Another flight carrying Indian evacuees departs from Jeddah to New Delhi. 365 passengers onboard this 6th outbound flight are on their way back home," MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
The Indian evacuees shouted slogans like "Bharat Mata ki jai," and "Vande Mataram" and also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for rescuing them from Sudan under Operation Kaveri.
On the night of April 27, 28, 2023, the IAF C-130J aircraft rescued 121 personnel from a small airstrip at Wadi Seidna, which is about 40 km North of Khartoum, Sudan, the IAF said in a statement.
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Sudan violence
Sudan is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. Even though there is a 72-hour ceasefire, there have been allegations of violence. Fighting has erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
(With ANI inputs)
