10th batch of 135 Indians departs from Sudan under ‘Operation Kaveri’
The 10th batch with 135 Indian citizens, who were stranded in conflict-ridden Sudan, have successfully departed from Port Sudan on an IAF C 130J flight, said the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said on Friday morning. They are headed towards Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
India has launched “Operation Kaveri” with the aim of repatriating all the citizens who have been stranded in Sudan due to the ongoing conflict which resulted from clashes between the army and paramilitary forces in the country, causing a volatile situation that has put many people at risk.
“#OperationKaveri progresses further. 10th batch of evacuees with 135 passengers onboard IAF C-130J flight departs Port Sudan for Jeddah,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
“INS Tarkash bolsters #OperationKaveri efforts! 9th batch of Indians leaves Port Sudan for Jeddah with 326 passengers onboard,” Bagchi said in an earlier tweet.
Earlier, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan updated that the eighth batch of Indian nationals had been safely evacuated from Sudan and arrived at Jeddah airport. This batch consisted of 121 individuals, including family members of Indian embassy officials who were also in Sudan.
“A daring rescue! 8th batch of 121 Indians arrived at Jeddah by IAF C 130 J from Wadi Seidna, Sudan. This evacuation was more complex as the location is in vicinity of Khartoum. Family members of our Embassy Officials were also part of this group. Warm welcome. #OperationKaveri,” Muraleedharan tweeted.
According to the website of the Indian embassy in Khartoum, there were around 2,800 Indian nationals in Sudan. Along with this, there was also a settled Indian community of around 1,200 people – which has been in the country for nearly 150 years.
On Tuesday, INS Sumedha transported the first batch of 278 Indian individuals from Port Sudan to Jeddah. In a statement released on Sunday, the MEA assured that all possible measures were being taken to ensure the safety and security of Indian citizens who are currently stranded in Sudan.
The armed forces are working tirelessly to evacuate all the Indian citizens from the conflict-ridden region.
The Sudanese Armed Forces have on Friday announced an extension -for another 72 hours – of the ceasefire in the region, a decision that has been widely welcomed by both the Trilateral Mechanism (consisting of the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and United Nations) and the Quad (comprising Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, and US).