Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra has said the family of an Indian who was killed in Khartoum amid the crisis in Sudan has been evacuated, while his body still remains there. Albert Augestine, a retired soldier, had called his wife and daughter to Sudan a couple of weeks ago to celebrate Easter with them and had booked tickets to travel back with them on May 3. However, on Saturday, April 15, a stray bullet hit him while he was standing near the window of his flat talking to his son in the UK, the victim's father told the media here.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Thursday said that around 600 Indians have been rescued so far from the conflict-hit African country.
Addressing a press conference regarding the rescue operations of Indian citizens from Sudan, Kwatra said, "We are constantly monitoring the situation in Sudan since the conflict began on April 15. Our estimate is that there are approximately 3500 Indians & 1000 PIOs in Sudan."
"The third naval ship- INS Tarkash- has also reached Port Sudan today to evacuate Indians from Sudan," he said.
On Wednesday night the first group of evacuees arrived in New Delhi from Jeddah in a commercial aircraft.
"India welcomes back its own. #OperationKaveri brings 360 Indian Nationals to the homeland as first flight reaches New Delhi," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted.
Fighting continued in parts of Sudan despite a 72-hour ceasefire. The ceasefire, which was due to expire on Friday, was extended by Sudan’s Army chief. As per a report by BBC, the fighting broke out near television and radio buildings in Omdurman, the city adjoining the capital Khartoum. The existing ceasefire began at Monday midnight (local time) bringing a pause to a conflict that erupted on 15 April amid a power struggle between the leaders of the army and the RSF.