India Begins 'Operation Kaveri' To Evacuate Citizens From Battle-Torn Sudan

As the conflict between Sudanese Army and paramilitary groups intensifies, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday informed that its ‘Operation Kaveri’ has been operationalized to evacuate Indians stranded in the war-torn Sudan.

According to reports, around 500 Indian nationals have so far reached the Port Sudan for evacuation.

Taking to Twitter, 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 assist all our bretheren in Sudan." 

Earlier, France Embassy in India had informed that they have evacuated some Indians along with citizens of 27 other countries from Sudan.

The French embassy in New Delhi said that 388 people from 28 countries, including India, were evacuated.

"French evacuation operations are underway. Last night, two military flight rotations evacuated 388 people from 28 countries, including Indian nationals," it tweeted.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it has evacuated 66 citizens of "brotherly and friendly" foreign countries that included a few Indian nationals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Sudan via video-conferencing.

During the meeting, he assessed the most recent developments in Sudan and received a first-hand report of the conditions on the ground, with a specific focus on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens presently located throughout the country.

Fighting has been raging between forces loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict began since a coup in 2021 between Sudan's military leader and his deputy on the ruling council erupted derailing a plan for a transition to a civilian democracy after the fall of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

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