Operation Kaveri: First batch of 278 Indians leaves conflict-hit Sudan

NEW DELHI: The first batch of stranded Indians was evacuated from conflict-hit Sudan under Operation Kaveri on Tuesday. A total of 278 people departed from Port Sudan onboard INS Sumedha for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, said a spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs.

The evacuation comes a day after the MEA announced that India had launched an operation to bring back around 3,000 Indians stranded in Sudan. External affairs minister S Jaishankar had said that around 500 citizens have already reached Port Sudan.

"Our ships and aircraft are set to bring them back home. We are committed to assisting all our brethren in Sudan," Jaishankar had tweeted. The MEA had said in a statement that India has also positioned two IAF C-130J on standby in Jeddah.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the operation is being supervised by MoS for external affairs V Muraleedharan.

Describing the security situation in Sudan as complex and evolving, the Centre on Sunday had said it was pursuing multiple options to evacuate the 3,000 Indian citizens stuck in the country.

India’s decision to deploy the Super Hercules military transport aircraft followed the high-level meeting PM Narendra Modi chaired on April 21 in which he asked officials to ready contingency evacuation plans. India had used the C-130J earlier also for Afghanistan evacuation.
Some Indians were evacuated from Sudan during operations launched by other countries, including Saudi Arabia and France, for their own citizens.
(With inputs from agencies)
Watch India begins 'Operation Kaveri' to evacuate Indians stranded in Sudan