New Delhi: Arindam Bagchi, an official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said on Tuesday that Indian Air Force aircraft have landed in Port Sudan for the purpose of carrying out evacuations in the midst of the ongoing conflict.
Indian Air Force's C-130J airplane has arrived in Sudan to evacuate stranded Indians as the course of departures go on in the violence-hit North African country.
"#OperationKaveri takes to the skies. IAF C-130J aircraft lands in Port Sudan to undertake evacuation operations," Bagchi tweeted, as he informed about the same.
In the first phase of "Operation Kaveri," Indians stranded in Sudan left the conflict-ravaged nation earlier today (local time). With 278 people aboard, the Indian Navy's third Saryu-class patrol vessel, INS Sumedha, left Port Sudan for Jeddah.
In addition, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan visited the International Indian School, Jeddah, transit facility on Tuesday, where Indians evacuated from Sudan will be received and temporarily housed before arriving in India.
"Inspected transit facility @IndianPage,Jeddah where Indians evacuated from Sudan will be received & put up briefly before travel to India. It is fully equipped incl with mattresses, provisions, fresh meals,toilets, medical facilities, Wifi. Has 24*7 control room. #OperationKaveri," the MoS wrote on Twitter.
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.
In an effort to rescue stranded Indians from the war-torn Sudan, India has launched "Operation Kaveri."
What Is 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.