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India evacuates 534 citizens from Sudan amid 72-hour ceasefire; more to follow
The first batch of 278 Indians were ferried by INS Sumedha from Port Sudan, the country’s main port located more than 800 km from the capital Khartoum, to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia
India has evacuated more than 530 of its citizens from Sudan using military aircraft and a warship, and more are set to be taken out of the northeast African country amid a lull in fighting between the regular army and a rebel paramilitary force.
The evacuation began on Tuesday after forces loyal to the Sudan Army chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy-turned-rival, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), agreed on a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire.
The first batch of 278 Indians were ferried by INS Sumedha from Port Sudan, the country’s main port located more than 800 km from the capital Khartoum, to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Under Operation Kaveri, two more batches comprising 121 people and 135 people were flown in C-130J medium-lift transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Port Sudan to Jeddah. India had positioned two C-130J aircraft in Jeddah on Sunday.
Minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan, who travelled to Jeddah on Tuesday to oversee repatriation efforts, received the Indians when they arrived in the Saudi port city. “Onward journey to India for all who arrived in Jeddah will commence shortly,” he said in a tweet.
Most of the Indian nationals who had gathered in Port Sudan till Tuesday have now been evacuated to Saudi Arabia, though people familiar with the matter said there were still problems in evacuating hundreds stranded in Khartoum, where the main airport has been damaged in recent fighting.
Indian authorities are exploring various options for evacuating stranded Indian nationals from Khartoum and other locations, including the use of military airbases located near the capital city.
The Indian side has set up a control room and a transit facility in Jeddah to facilitate evacuation efforts. The transit facility is equipped with provisions, fresh meals, medical facilities and beds, and Indians brought out of Sudan will be kept there before they are sent home.
The people said Saudi Arabia, with which the Indian side established close contact soon after the fighting erupted in Sudan on April 14, is playing a crucial role in evacuation efforts. Given its proximity to Sudan, Indians evacuated from the war-torn country can be taken to Saudi Arabia by air or sea, before being put on to flights to bring them home.
There were about 3,000 Indian citizens in Sudan when the fighting erupted, with most of them in Khartoum.
The ceasefire is partially holding, with armed clashes being reported in Khartoum and other places, though there are no signs the warring factions are ready for serious negotiations on ending the fighting, the UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, told a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday.
“There is yet no unequivocal sign that either is ready to seriously negotiate, suggesting that both think that securing a military victory over the other is possible,” he said.
According to UN agencies, the fighting has killed 459 people and injured more than 4,000. Many areas in Sudan are without electricity and water, and food shortages have been reported in Khartoum and other cities.
