'There's lots of bombs…': 754 more Indians return home from Sudan, recall crisis
1 min read . Updated: 28 Apr 2023, 08:46 PM IST
PremiumIndia on Friday brought home 754 people under its mission to evacuate stranded Indians from strife-torn Sudan. While 392 people arrived in New Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force, another batch of 362 Indians were brought to Bengaluru.
Heavy clashes rocked Sudan on Friday as evacuations continued at warp speed amid a shaky truce. Under Operation Kaveri around 1,360 Indians have already returned home while others wait in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah - where the country has set up a transit camp for evacuees.
“There's lots of bombs shooting. RSF is fighting the army. And there's no electricity in Khartoum right now...I am happy and sad at the same time because I left all my friends. They are going to different countries now," recounted one girl after landing in India.
The Indian Navy has deployed its warships INS Sumedha, INS Teg and INS Tarkash while the Indian Air Force has deployed two of its C130J transport aircraft. While the ships ferry the stranded citizens from Port Sudan to Jeddah, the IAF flights take over the rescue operations in the second stretch.
While Indian military is leading the efforts, private carrier IndiGo has also announced plans to join the rescue operations.
“In order to support the repatriation efforts, IndiGo will operate chartered evacuation flights as part of Operation Kaveri being conducted by Govt of India, on April 28 and 30 from Jeddah to Delhi and Bengaluru respectively. The airline will be operating two flights, bringing over 450 Indian citizens back to their homeland over the weekend," the company said.
Meanwhile Khartoum has turned into a war zone after two weeks of fighting with heavy battles underway in spite of a fresh truce. A wide-ranging group of international mediators - including African and Arab nations, the UN and the United States - have now intensified their pressure on the rival generals to enter talks on resolving the crisis.
(With inputs from agencies)