NEW DELHI: India on Monday named its evacuation operations by sea and air for Indians stranded in the African nation of Sudan as Operation Kaveri, with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar saying that about 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan where India has stationed its naval ship.
This formally marks the start of the evacuation process. Two IAF transport aircraft had also been earlier positioned at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to fly to airports in Sudan as soon as the Sudanese airspace is open to foreign aircraft.
Jaishankar tweeted: “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 brethren in Sudan.”
Sudanese airspace is still closed for all foreign aircraft and movement by road in the troubled African nation remains fraught with risk due to heavy fighting. India had on Sunday said it has put “contingency plans in place” that include evacuation operations by air and sea for over 3,000 stranded Indian nationals there by positioning two Indian Air Force (IAF) C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft on standby in Jeddah while its state-of-the-art indigenous Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel INS Sumedha has reached Port Sudan.
New Delhi on Sunday had also said “it is in regular touch with the stranded Indians in Sudan and is advising them on the viability of safe movement and the need to avoid unnecessary risk”, adding that “it is also coordinating all possible assistance including possible exit from Khartoum city as and when the security situation permits safe movement”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday chaired a high-level meeting via video-conferencing to review the security situation in Sudan, during which he had “assessed the most recent developments in Sudan and received a first-hand report of the conditions on the ground, with specific focus on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens located in the country”. The Prime Minister had “further directed the preparation of contingency evacuation plans, accounting for the rapidly shifting security landscape and the viability of various options.”
