Last Updated: April 26, 2023, 01:56 IST
Naval ship INS Sumedha, which evacuated the preliminary batch of 278 Indians, had rushed in important reduction provides for its remaining stranded residents. (Photo Credit: MEA)
Naval ship INS Sumedha, which evacuated the preliminary batch of 278 Indians, had rushed in important reduction provides for its remaining stranded residents
A number of hours after India evacuated the primary batch of Indians from Sudan on Tuesday, the second batch of 121 stranded Indians left the Port of Sudan for Jeddah onboard an IAF C-130J plane as half of ‘Operation Kaveri’.
“The second batch of 121 stranded Indians leaves Port Sudan for Jeddah onboard IAF C-130J plane. Another sortie to observe,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
Naval ship INS Sumedha, which evacuated the initial batch of 278 Indians, had rushed in essential relief supplies for its remaining stranded citizens as a three-day ceasefire appeared to be holding in the strife-torn African country.
On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar 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.
India has positioned two transport aircraft of the IAF in Jeddah and the naval ship INS Sumedha at Port Sudan as part of its contingency plans to evacuate the Indians.
After Indian Navy successfully docked INS Sumedha in Jeddah with 278 passengers on Tuesday, Jaishankar thanked Saudi Arabian authorities for their fullest cooperation.
“Operation Kaveri unfolds. INS Sumedha docks in Jeddah with 278 passengers. Thank HH @FaisalbinFarhan and Saudi Arabian authorities for their fullest cooperation,” Jaishankar tweeted.
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, who earlier reached Jeddah to supervise the evacuation mission, obtained the primary batch of Indians evacuated from Sudan.
“Happy to obtain 278 Indians from Sudan onboard INS Sumedha at Jeddah Port. Glad Saudi Director General, MFA, Jeddah Branch H.E.Mazin Hamad Al Himly joined me. Thank Saudi authorities for glorious assist in Jeddah,”  Muraleedharan tweeted.
Happy to receive 278 Indians from Sudan onboard INS Sumedha at Jeddah Port. Glad Saudi Director General, MFA, Jeddah Branch H.E.Mazin Hamad Al Himly joined meThank Saudi authorities for excellent support in Jeddah.#OperationKaveri pic.twitter.com/r0RpWLTOmh
— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) April 25, 2023
Separately, the Indian Navy’s second ship, INS Teg, arrived in Port Sudan to bring back more Indians under New Delhi’s mission ‘Operation Kaveri’ that has been launched to evacuate around 3,000 Indians from Sudan.
As part of Operation Kaveri, India has set up a control room in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah to facilitate the evacuation of Indians from Sudan.
From Jeddah, India is set to bring back the Indians home in military transport aircraft of the Indian Air 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 as a 72-hour truce was agreed to between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following intense negotiations.
The Indian Navy said its mission-deployed warship INS Sumedha was diverted for evacuation of the citizens stranded in Sudan.
Apart from the Sudanese authorities, the MEA and the Indian embassy in Sudan have been in regular touch with the UN, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and US among others.
At a high-level meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had issued instructions for the preparation of contingency plans to evacuate Indians from Sudan.
(With PTI inputs)
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