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Operation Kaveri: ‘Herculean task’ of evacuating Indians from Sudan's El Fashir achieved
According to the embassy, two buses carrying 80 Indians from El Fashir, located in western Sudan, safely reached Port Sudan after travelling for over 48 hours.
The Indian embassy in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, announced on Thursday that they had achieved one of the most “herculean tasks” of “Operation Kaveri” on its ninth day, successfully evacuating Indians stranded in the conflict-hit city of El Fashir.
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Sharing the route from El Fashir city to Port Sudan on Twitter, the embassy wrote, “9th day of #OperationKaveri. One of the most herculean tasks of bringing Indians stranded in El Fashir was achieved today.”
According to the embassy, two buses carrying 80 Indians from El Fashir, located in western Sudan, safely reached Port Sudan after travelling for over 48 hours. In order to accomplish this, the embassy mobilized its resources and coordinated with various stakeholders in conflict zones to ensure the safe travel of its citizens over a journey of more than 1800 km.
The embassy so far facilitated the movement of 67 buses from various parts of Sudan to reach Port Sudan, where the evacuees were able to board flights back to India.
The embassy further stated that it is continuing its rigorous efforts to evacuate Indian citizens from Sudan, and has successfully moved a total of 3,584 stranded Indians thus far.
As part of “Operation Kaveri”, the Indian government has been actively evacuating its citizens who are stranded in various conflict-affected parts of Sudan. According to the Indian embassy in Khartoum, five Indian naval ships and 16 Indian Air Force aircraft, including one from Wadi Sayyidna military airbase, have been utilized to transport the evacuees out of Port Sudan.
Indian nationals who have already been evacuated from Sudan expressed their gratitude to the Indian government after arriving in Delhi on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, the 22nd batch of stranded Indian evacuees, comprising 135 individuals, departed from war-torn Sudan on an IAF C-130J aircraft for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Earlier on Wednesday, another group of 62 Indian nationals had reached New Delhi, bringing the total number of evacuees to over 3,500.
Ceasefire in Sudan
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to a seven-day ceasefire, according to a statement issued by the foreign ministry of South Sudan on Tuesday. This comes after a telephonic conversation between South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit and representatives of both warring factions, news agency ANI reported.
The ceasefire will be in effect from May 4 to 11, providing a brief respite from the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
Tuesday's announcement came after the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) warned that more than 800,000 people may migrate to other nations as continuous violence impedes convoys to evacuate people from Sudan's major ports.
