The first group of 360 Indians under “Operation Kaveri” left crisis-ridden Sudan and landed in New Delhi this evening.
“India welcomes her citizens back. 360 Indian citizens have returned home as part of #OperationKaveri as the first flight lands in New Delhi, the foreign minister S Jaishakar tweeted alongside arrival images.
India welcomes back its own. #OperationKaveri brings 360 Indian Nationals to the homeland as first flight reaches New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/v9pBLmBQ8X
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 26, 2023
Days after Mr Jaishankar met with his Saudi Arabian colleague, the evacuation took place. To assess the security situation in Sudan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-level meeting on Friday.
The government initiated “Operation Kaveri” as a rescue effort to get trapped Indian nationals out of Sudan, where the Sudanese Army and paramilitary groups are at war.
After mediation by the US and Saudi Arabia, which are both involved in the exodus of their nationals from the country, the warring groups in Sudan agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire on Monday.
All Indians who were evacuated from Sudan have been brought to Jeddah, where India has established a transit centre as part of its evacuation effort.
V Muraleedharan, a minister of state for foreign affairs, is in Jeddah to supervise the evacuation effort.
On Saturday morning, Saudi Arabia said that it had evacuated 66 individuals of “brotherly and friendly” nations, some of whom were Indian nationals, from Sudan.
According to the WHO, fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since mid-April has resulted in at least 459 fatalities and more than 4,000 injuries.
Foreigners have fled in large numbers as a result of the nearly two weeks of urban fighting, and the UN has warned that a massive new refugee crisis may be on the horizon.
Thousands of foreign nationals have escaped Sudan by land to surrounding nations, with the help of hastily prepared road convoys, planes, and ships.
