First Batch of Indians Rescued from Violence-struck Sudan as Part of Operation Kaveri

India’s naval ship INS Sumedha has collected the first batch of Indians stranded in Sudan amid the fierce power struggle between the army and a paramilitary force. The plan is to safely evacuate over 3,000 Indian citizens located throughout Sudan and as of now, 278 have been sent onboard the INS Sumedha.

As part of ‘Operation Kaveri’, which is a plan to evacuate the Indian citizens located in violence-struck Sudan, 278 Indians are onboard the INS Sumedha ship which has departed Port Sudan and is headed to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted the news and shared photos and videos from the scene.

First batch of stranded Indians leave Sudan under #OperationKaveri.

INS Sumedha with 278 people onboard departs Port Sudan for Jeddah. pic.twitter.com/4hPrPPsi1I

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) April 25, 2023

India has also positioned two transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Jeddah and the naval ship INS Sumedha at Port Sudan as part of the contingency plans to evacuate the stranded Indians.

Sudan has been experiencing a lot of violence as the Sudanese Army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan are fighting for power. Even though a United States-brokered cease-fire in Sudan was in place, gunfire and loud explosions erupted in Khartoum, the capital. Over the past 12 days, more than 400 people have died.

France has also evacuated some Indians along with citizens of 27 other countries as part of its evacuation mission. The French embassy in New Delhi said on Monday that 388 people from 28 countries, including India, were evacuated. The operation aims to extract over 3,000 Indian citizens located throughout Sudan.

Vineet Washington