India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced on Monday that it had launched “Operation Kaveri” to evacuate its citizens from the violence-hit Sudan, where the fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary groups had intensified in the capital Khartoum. The conflict has resulted in the death of more than 250 people and left approximately 2,600 others injured in Khartoum and other cities. The situation has raised the possibility of a civil war breaking out across the country.
As part of the operation, the Indian Air Force’s C-130J airplane has arrived in Sudan to evacuate stranded Indians as the course of departures goes on in the violence-hit North African country. The aircraft landed in Port Sudan to carry out evacuations amid the ongoing conflict. The IAF’s participation in the operation is a sign of India’s commitment to ensuring the safety of its citizens in the region.
Arindam Bagchi, an official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, informed about the same on Tuesday via Twitter. “#OperationKaveri takes to the skies. IAF C-130J aircraft lands in Port Sudan to undertake evacuation operations,” he tweeted.
In the first phase of “Operation Kaveri,” Indians stranded in Sudan left the conflict-ravaged nation earlier on Tuesday. With 278 people aboard, the Indian Navy’s third Saryu-class patrol vessel, INS Sumedha, left Port Sudan for Jeddah. This is a significant step towards the safe evacuation of Indians from Sudan.
To ensure the safe transit of evacuated Indians, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan visited the International Indian School, Jeddah, transit facility on Tuesday, where Indians evacuated from Sudan will be received and temporarily housed before arriving in India. The facility is fully equipped, including mattresses, provisions, fresh meals, toilets, medical facilities, and Wi-Fi, and has a 24×7 control room.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced on Monday that India’s “Operation Kaveri” is underway and that approximately 500 Indians had reached Port Sudan. The ongoing conflict involves the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the main paramilitary force. Sudan has been under the control of a council of generals since the 2021 coup, with two military leaders at the center of the current dispute: Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is effectively the country’s president and head of the armed forces, and his deputy, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who leads the RSF paramilitary group. The two generals have differing views on the country’s future direction, particularly regarding the proposed shift toward civilian rule.
India’s Operation Kaveri is a significant step towards ensuring the safe evacuation of its citizens from the conflict-ravaged Sudan. The participation of the Indian Air Force in the operation demonstrates India’s commitment to the safety of its citizens in the region. The fully equipped transit facility in Jeddah will provide temporary housing and necessary facilities to the evacuated Indians before they arrive in India.