Operation Kaveri to bring stranded Indians from Sudan underway, 500 Indians reach Port Sudan

The Ministry of External Affairs has initiated an evacuation operation to bring stranded Indians from battle-torn Sudan back to the country. As mentioned by S Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs, nearly 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan. 

The rescue operation has been named Operation Kaveri. "Operation Kaveri gets underway to bring back our citizens stranded in Sudan. About 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan. More on their way. Our ships and aircraft are set to bring them back home. Committed to assisting all our bretheren in Sudan," tweeted S Jaishankar.

India on Sunday announced that as a part of Operation Kaveri, Air Force's C-130J has been deployed on standby in Jeddah, and INS Sumedha has reached Port Sudan to evacuate Indian nationals.

According to available information, nearly 3,000 Indians were stuck in various parts of Sudan, including the capital Khartoum and in distant provinces like Darfur.

The evacuation operation began days after S Jaishankar held talks with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Both countries had assured their "practical support on the ground".

In Sudan, a war broke out as the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) started fighting in a power struggle across the country. The violence triggered after a disagreement over an internationally backed plan to form a new civilian government in Sudan, four years after the fall of president Omar al-Bashir and two years after a military coup. Earlier on Sunday, the foreign ministry had said that India was making "every effort to ensure the safety and security of its citizens stranded in Sudan".

"We are closely monitoring the complex and evolving security situation in Sudan. We are also coordinating closely with various partners for the safe movement of those Indians who are stranded in Sudan and would like to be evacuated," the ministry said in a statement.

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