English
New Delhi: “They kept riffles at our chest and looted us. Our mobiles were stolen,” one of the Indian, who was stranded in Sudan, narrated his ordeal after he was evacuated from the violence-hit country. “They kept us hostage for eight hours,” he added. Over 500 Indians stranded in Sudan have been evacuated by the government as part of rescue mission ‘Operation Kaveri’.
Several Indians, who were evacuated, said they were kept hostage for several hours without food. “The fight was intense. We were struggling for food. The scenario continued for two-three days,” another Indian evacuated from Sudan was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“We kept in touch with the Embassy and told them to arrange for the buses, as we had diesel. The Indian Navy came and treated us well,” another Indian said.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group for the last 12 days that has reportedly left around 400 people dead. Over 500 Indians stranded in Sudan have been evacuated by the government as part of Operation Kaveri mission.
India stepped up its efforts to evacuate the Indians from Sudan as a 72-hour truce was agreed to between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following intense negotiations.
The Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Wednesday said 360 Indians left Jeddah Airport on a flight bound for New Delhi and will soon be reunited with their families. Operation Kaveri is a rescue operation launched by the central government to evacuate stranded Indian citizens from Sudan.
Happy to see off 360 Indians at Jeddah Airport in a flight bound for New Delhi
They will be reaching the motherland soon, reuniting with their families
Under #OperationKaveri the Government is working relentlessly to evacuate Indian nationals from Sudan & bring them home safely pic.twitter.com/0kCIH35jyb
— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) April 26, 2023
India has deployed its military planes and warships to rescue Indians from there. Even though there is a 72-hour ceasefire, there have been allegations of violence.
The evacuation operation started in Port Sudan. Till now, an estimated 300-500 Indian citizens have been evacuated by ship and other evacuation processes are going on. The government sources also stated that the INS Teg is stationed at Port Sudan to bring back Indians from there to Jeddah. Earlier, the INS Sumedha has already disembarked 278 Indians from there to Jeddah.
INS Tarkash is in the vicinity to take part in the operations there, according to government sources quoted by ANI. India’s low-cost carrier Indigo has offered its services to the government regarding evacuation under Operation Kaveri.
Previously, France Embassy in India informed that their country has evacuated some Indians along with citizens of 27 other countries as part of its evacuation mission from violence-hit Sudan.
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest India News on India.com.
