'They Kept Rifles On Our Chest And Looted Us': Indian Nationals Evacuated From Sudan Narrate Ordeal
Sudan Crisis: As part of the rescue effort, the Indian Air Force recently rescued approximately 250 Indians who were trapped in conflict-torn Sudan.
New Delhi: Countries have been evacuating their citizens amid the 72-hour ceasefire that has been agreed upon by the two warring factions in Sudan. India was one of the nations that recently evacuated its citizens as part of Operation Kaveri. As part of the rescue effort, the Air Force recently rescued approximately 250 Indians who were trapped in conflict-torn Sudan. Two IAF C-130 J aircraft were used to evacuate more than 250 people from Port Sudan. On Wednesday, 135 additional Indians who had become stranded in Sudan were rescued.
The Indians who fled Sudan's violence also had a story to tell. They talked about their experience and said that the fight was so bad that it was hard to even get food on a daily basis.
One of the Indians evacuated from Sudan told ANI, "The fight was intense. We were struggling for food. The scenario continued for 2-3 days."
Due to fighting between the army and paramilitary forces, Sudan is experiencing violence. Even in the midst of a 72-hour ceasefire, there are reports of violence.
Another Indian evacuated said in a separate statement, "The tent of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was fixated near our company. Early morning at around 9, the forces entered our company. We were looted."
"They kept us hostage for eight hours. They kept riffles at our chest and looted us. Our mobiles were stolen," he told ANI.
"We kept in touch with the Embassy and told them to arrange for the buses, as we had diesel. The Indian Navy came and treated us well," the Indian national evacuated from Sudan said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced on Monday that its "Operation Kaveri" to evacuate its citizens from battle-torn Sudan is underway and that approximately 500 Indians had reached Port Sudan as the fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary groups intensified in the capital Khartoum.
Taking to Twitter, S Jaishankar said, "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 brethren in Sudan."
According to official data, the number of Indians evacuated from Sudan so far stands at around 530, according to the news agency PTI.
V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs, is in Jeddah to oversee the evacuation effort.
"Happy to see off 360 Indians at Jeddah Airport in a flight bound for New Delhi. They will be reaching the motherland soon, reuniting with their families. Under #OperationKaveri the Government is working relentlessly to evacuate Indian nationals from Sudan & bring them home safely," Muraleedharan tweeted a video.
Happy to see off 360 Indians at Jeddah Airport in a flight bound for New Delhi
— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) April 26, 2023
They will be reaching the motherland soon, reuniting with their families
Under #OperationKaveri the Government is working relentlessly to evacuate Indian nationals from Sudan & bring them home safely pic.twitter.com/0kCIH35jyb
The Minister can be heard telling the passengers that PM Modi has promised to bring back every Indian in the video.
From Jeddah, India is set to bring back the Indians home in military vehicle airplane of the Aviation based armed forces.
"We cannot express our great attitude toward Modi ji. We have no words. What kind of work you have done, we have no words," said a passenger on board.
Sudan Crisis
The violence erupted in Sudan due to a power struggle between two main factions of the country’s military regime, resulting in the death of more than 250 people and leaving approximately 2,600 others injured in Khartoum and other cities. The conflict involves the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the main paramilitary force. This situation has raised the possibility of a civil war breaking out across the country.
Sudan has been under the control of a council of generals since the 2021 coup, with two military leaders at the center of the current dispute: Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is effectively the country's president and head of the armed forces, and his deputy, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who leads the RSF paramilitary group. The two generals have differing views on the country's future direction, particularly regarding the proposed shift towards civilian rule.
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