India has launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate its citizens who are stranded in the conflict-torn Sudan. The External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, announced the operation in a tweet on Monday, stating that over 500 Indians had arrived in Port Sudan, and more are on their way.
India had already positioned two heavy-lift military transport aircraft in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah and a naval ship at a key port in Sudan as part of its contingency plans to bring Indians back from the country. The government had said it was focusing on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens present throughout Sudan.
Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, has been experiencing violence since April 15, when clashes broke out between the military and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. The fighting has created a humanitarian crisis in the country, and UN agencies have reported over 427 deaths.
As the fighting calmed down, countries raced to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. The US government evacuated all its personnel from its embassy in Khartoum, and Britain’s armed forces evacuated diplomatic staff and their family members from Sudan.
China also started evacuating its citizens from Sudan on Monday, while Canada temporarily suspended operations in Sudan and evacuated its diplomats.
Germany, France, and other countries have also carried out evacuations of their citizens and other nationals from Sudan.
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