New Delhi : Naval warship INS Sumedha left Port Sudan for Jeddah with the first batch of 278 Indians as part of ‘Operation Kaveri’ launched to evacuate civilians stranded in Sudan. India has deployed another ship, INS Teg, to evacuate the remaining citizens from conflict-hit Sudan. A naval ship will bring the Indians to Jeddah, from where the citizens will be brought to India with the help of the Air Force. Two C-130J transport aircraft of the Air Force are on standby in Saudi Arabia.
The ongoing fierce conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force has become a challenge for the whole world. The Rapid Support Force had announced a ceasefire on Eid, but it could not be effective then. After this, America started trying to get a ceasefire between the two sides. US efforts to bring about a ceasefire in violence-torn Sudan have paid off. After two days of talks, both the warring sides have agreed on a 72-hour ceasefire. Starting from the midnight of 24 April, this ceasefire will last for the next 72 hours. So far 427 people have died in the violence and more than 3700 have been injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given instructions for the safe evacuation of over 3000 Indians stranded in violence-torn Sudan. So far, more than 4,000 people from different countries have been safely evacuated from Sudan. Other countries have also come forward to evacuate the stranded Indians from Sudan. Saudi Arabia and France have safely evacuated many Indians from there. France has also evacuated 388 people from 28 countries including 5 Indian nationals in two military aircraft. Saudi Arabia has evacuated 66 foreign nationals of friendly nations from Sudan, including several Indian nationals.
India has kept two C-130J military transport aircraft ready to fly in Jeddah as part of its contingency plan to safely evacuate Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan from the African country. Indian Naval Ship INS Sumedha has left for Jeddah with 278 Indians in the first batch from Port Sudan. 500 Indians have reached Sudan Port to return to their homeland. The Navy has deployed another ship INS Teg to bring back the rest of the citizens from Sudan. India is also cooperating with countries that want to evacuate their citizens stranded there.