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.
Another ship, C-130J arrives in Port SudanShortly after INS Sumedha departed Port Sudan with 278 Indians onboard, INS Teg joined Operation Kaveri and arrived at the port with additional officials and essential relief supplies for stranded Indians.
INS Teg at Port Sudan
INS Teg will boost ongoing evacuation efforts by Embassy Camp Office at Port Sudan, said officials.
Meanwhile, the IAF's C-130J aircraft also landed in Port Sudan for evacuation operations.
MEA MoS in JeddahPrime Minister Narendra Modi had said the operation is being supervised by MoS for external affairs V Muraleedharan.
Muraleedharan is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, coordinating the rescue mission and on Tuesday visited the control room set up to facilitate the evacuation of Indians from Sudan.
MoS MEA V Muraleedharan visited the control room in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photo: ANI
"Necessary infrastructure is in place in both Port Sudan and Jeddah. Team is in full readiness on the ground," he tweeted.
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.
Op Kaveri: India begins evacuations from violence-hit Sudan
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)
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